Rabbits and Hares, common name for certain small, furry mammals with long ears and short tails. Although the names rabbit and hare are often used interchangeably, in zoological classification the species called rabbits are characterized by the helplessness of their offspring, which are born naked and with closed eyes, and by their gregarious habit of living in colonies in underground burrows. [The exception is the cottontail of North America, which does not dig burrows; its nest is on the surface, usually in dense vegetation, and it is not social.] Species designated zoologically as hares are born furred and with open eyes, and the adults merely construct a simple nest and rarely live socially. Furthermore, the hare is generally larger than the rabbit and has longer ears with characteristic black markings. Moreover, the skulls of rabbits and hares are distinctly different.

Distributed throughout the world, hares and rabbits have many common characteristics. Both groups breed prolifically, bearing four to eight litters a year, with three to eight young in each litter, have a period of gestation lasting about a month, reach sexual maturity in about six months, and have a life span of about ten years. These animals, which weigh from about 1 to 5 kg [about 2 to 11 lb] and attain a length of about 30 to 60 cm [about 12 to 24 in], feed mainly on herbs, tree bark, and vegetables. They prefer to live in regions where the soil is loose and dry and where brushwood offers shelter. Although rabbits and hares are valued as game by hunters, as food, and for their fur, they often are pests to farmers whose trees and crops they destroy. The species commonly found in the United States are the cottontail, the snowshoe rabbit, the jackrabbit, and the domestic rabbit.