Suns Out Buns Out!

Joining me today is close friend of the pod, producer at I Heeart radio, writer for a V Club and fulture, producer of Fake Doctor's Real Friends, and my buddy Joel Monique. Hi, how are you good? It's so good to have you back. I'm so glad to be back, especially talking about the most adorable features on God's Earth. I level bun buns and the bunnies. Yes, yes, we got we got the bunnies. We got so many bunnies. I got a lot of

requests to do bunny sd um follow. Your audience has always been great, and clearly their excellence hasn't slowed down in my absence. They have very good taste in terms of episodes. And uh, I'll just read a couple of the emails I got asking for bunny. So this was from Max who got a bunny rabbit called Dr SEUs, And uh, Max writes for such a quiet animal, they have their own unique language of communication. Thumps, bump, bumping, feet, flicks, nudging, flopping.

There's so many ways, my bunny, this is me in rabbit language every day. It might also be a good place to plug that rabbits aren't the easy beginner pets that they are often sold as in pet stores. The shelter volunteer with is overrun with bunnies that how been abandoned. I feel like people often think bunnies are cute but don't realize the depth of care that they require. And that's from Max. Thank you, Max. Yeah, that's I think

that's a really good thing to note. Bunnies require a lot of space and exercise, and they have lots of needs. I mean, heck, they are built for running around. Uh. They're not just a cute little table sort of setting that you put in a basket for Easter. It's not a hamster. Y'all. Okay, they are not they're not. They're not made out of chocolate, so don't even try that. Um, do not bite your bunnies. Foot is lucky, but only while it's attached to the bunny. Yes, yes, exactly, yes.

So I mean I think rabbits can make good pets, but like all pets, they require a lot of care and they are a commitment. Domesticated rabbits can live around ten years if even if not longer. So yeah, if you want to get a on your rabbit, do your research first because they require lots of care, lots of attention,

and they're different from cats and dogs. They require different things, Like you're not going to be able to well maybe some people can get their rabbit to use a litter box, but in general, no, they're not going to do that. So what magician is training their rabbit use a litter box? That seems oh man, that's like cats that use the toilet. That's the next level dog or next level animal training. Yeah, I think I don't know, like how reliable the litter

box training would be for a bunny rabbit. I feel like that would be if the rabbit feels like it uh. And this is from Jessica, who writes, I think it's about time you gave some lagomorph love and cleared up the nasty rumor that rabbits are rodents, even though I love plus pikas. So yes, let's talk about rabbits, let's talk about lago morphs, and let's talk about pikas. So even know what a pika is, it's what a pikachu says, Pika pika. Oh my god, now I'm kidding U. So, yeah,

what is a bunny? You know? It seems like a simple enough question, but it's got pretty long answer. So rabbits, hairs and jack rabbits are all lago morphs, which are a distinct order of animals, separate from rodents. So no, they are not rodents. Are they cousins of transmorphers, of of animals or of animals? Listening all all of the morphing abilitied animals do laga morphs? Chair characteristics? Mighty morphine rabbit rangers show ten thousand lot all the cuteness of bunnies.

A bunny forming like a mega bunny that shoots missiles. Yeah, no, I'm into it. Imagine if bunnies could missiles. Nobody's they're gonna be defenders of the innocent. That would be Oh yeah. So picas are actually the other members of Laga morpha. So they are found in rocky mountainous regions in North America and Asia. And they don't really look too much like rabbits. They look like an adorable cross between a

rabbit and a mouse. Their ears are short and round, and they grow to be just about over a half a foot in length, about fifteen to twenty centimeters, and they're very noisy with these loud, little squeaking calls. So yeah, they they when you look at when it would be hard to really guess that they would be related to a bunny, looks more like an overgrown mouse. Yes, but like all of these characteristics of a mouse that I

find scary not present here. Like, yes, obviously they look like but their whiskers are like double the size of their face. Itch. First of all, just make instantly more adorable. Okay. Uh. The ears are so like maybe half the size of their heads. So I think like Mickey mout you know, like he has like a characteris each you have a mouth with the big ears. This mouse is an actual living Mickey Mouse is a pike, that is what I'm saying. Yeah, since what Mickey Mouse wishes he was. Truly, he's so

in the furs like longer. I can't see a tail in this, so I'm not sure what we're dealing. Are we dealing with long roaded tail? Yeah, they have like pretty smooth butt, so I don't think they have much of It's sort of more like a hamster situation. I'm pretty in the running for hugest animal on the planet. Um. Other animals are really gonna need to bring their game. Oh when they carry little foods in their mouth, a

little flowers, yeah, it's so cute. They like to use vegetation to line their burrows, so sometimes they're carrying flowers around and they will use that to help line their burrow or or to eat, and it's very cute. Well, the natural next question is are they domesticated? Could you bring one into your home and they love it as a pet companion? I don't think so. No, I know, I'm sorry. I mean, you know, if there if you want something like a domesticated pike, I guess a gerbil

would be the closest thing. They're not. They're not all that look similar. That's true. I've owned many a druble and I loved them, and they are great pets. This is not derbl slander. I'm just saying, not anti Gerbil. The pika is future, that's true. It's chair. I can't deny it. Oh my gosh. There's a book called American Pike as Little Cheap Hairs of the West, Dr John. I don't know if it's any good, but the cover adorable.

And if there's a picture book of just these like great little hairs from the West, I have to look to see if I need to purchase it. I mean now I want. It's sort of like five Al goes West and get rid of that mouse, repair pike, get him out of here. Minus are over camps, reclassified Mickey as the pike he's always been and move for Oh my word, okay, I could go down that Google rabbit hole forever. So that is those are indeed part of

the Lagomorpha order. And in terms of what we think of as bunnies and rabbits, there are rabbits hairs and jack rabbits, and these are in the family lapoora day, so they all share similar features. They have big hind legs and long ears the classic rabbit shape. So the difference between rabbits versus hairs and jack rabbits is really interesting. So hairs and jack rabbits tend to be a bit larger and leaner, with much bigger ears and are Also

they have different behaviors, so they're more solitary. Rabbits will often live in social groups. They live in warrens, which are these groups of burrows, whereas hairs typically live in pairs or on their own. In fact, with rabbits, the social life of rabbits can be really extravagant. So larger rabbit warrens, such as European rabbit warrens, can house around twenty individuals with multiple entrances. You've ever read Bunny Apartment Complex, Yes, exactly,

if you've ever read Watership Down. First of all, I'm sorry, and secondly you know what I'm talking about. Yeah that listen. If you're into the bunnies and you love them, don't watch Watership Down. Okay, it'll traiti you. Absolutely. This new one, this for the children, the new fingled one. Uh. It tells the same story, but it's like toned down. The graphic nature like eight. Is that the Yes, yeah, it's fine, it's good. It's probably better that you watch that one

appared to the one from the seventies. It's just a blood bath. It was a blood bath of chaos and horror. I watched that movie as an adult. I discovered waters Down at like six and was emotionally scarred. I was like, who did this? I can't imagine having seen it for the first time as a child. I read the books as a kid, and yeah, they were bad. I mean they were excellent books, very very literature, very good books. Very sad about the bunnies though, and all the horrible

things they go through. Yeah, it's it's tough. I will say. These jack rabbits, though, I feel like I don't see I feel like we, as our media, has not done enough for them as we have done for the stereotypical rabbits that we are more familiar with. Because, first of all, these ears are iconic. I imagine it's because they cool down, cool them down. They're like very thin, lots of veins

running through them, exactly very good guests, their statuesque. They're tall, big beautiful eyes, and I feel like, you know, a warrior spirit coming from this animal, like it could f it's prey. Up. No, I agree. I love hairs. I mean rabbits are very cute, love them. But there's something mystical about a hair, like it looks like it has seen into the universe and it has infinite wisdom, and it's also like a warrior. It's really they're very cool

looking animals, like like badass. Yeah. Yeah, like I decided to combine. I would say it's like an owl meets an elephant in a smaller body, Like you give all the wisdom of both the owl and the elephants, but also you know, all the ferociousness of the owls. Owls are all talents and claws and elephants you know, despite that that they're like impacts. You know that you can't

mess with an elephant's crew. Yeah, jack rabbit is very impressive. Yeah. Yeah, they they look like they can tell the future and also kick your butt. And so there are there are differences in terms of their development between these hairs and

the rabbits. So baby rabbits are actually born blind and helpless, and they tend to be born Yeah, they're the little pink, little jelly bean, you know, just like like a kitten or a puppy when they're born and they're just a little pink tube of cuteness like that, that's a baby bunny.

Like newborn baby rabbits are pink, furless, blind, helpless, and that that's why it also helps, like they have these social structures, the burrows and the larger warrens, and that helps out with babies that are born more defenseless because they're born in h a sort of protected area, whereas baby hairs are born already able to see, they already have fur, and they're already able to fit for themselves. And they're typically born in a nest of grass above

ground rather than in a burrow. First of all, a newborn hair Okay, I obviously I'm gonna be calling everything cute, but like as cute as the pike is, it's got fur you can brush in. His ears are so like many but big fruit's body even still tiny in his little beady eyes. Oh my goodn't want a pet one I shouldn't, but I want to. They are adorable. They fit,

you know, in the palm of your hand. They just look like little kutius And I like the you know when like a baby kitten or puppy or baby rabbit is born in the little pink, a little weird pink weirdos that they are. I like that, but it is like astonishing when a baby is born like a baby animal and they just already have they're little fluffy fur and they look just kind of like a miniaturized version of the adults. It's really cute. Um. The baby hairs

are called leveretts, and the baby rabbits are called kittens. Okay, that's weird science. What are we doing? Why Why are baby rabbits called kittens? I don't understand. Yeah, they I don't know that. They call a lot of a lot of baby mammals are called kittens, baby foxes, baby cats, baby bunnies. I'm getting guests, Probably a lot of other baby animals are also called kittens. Um, but yeah, they

aren't just baby cats. You can also call baby rabbits kits. Yeah, I've got I've heard of kids before, which I suppose I should have just connected that kids is short for kittens and babe kitten just at one point in the baby's tiny baby things. Sometimes guys in the old days ladies kitten. So I don't know, I'm trying to put working together here. I'm trying to make the mathwork for me.

It's so weird to call a little baby bunny at kitten if you ask me, they're also the males are called bucks and the females are called does, just like deer. So a little confusing too, because then you think, well, wouldn't you call the baby's fawns? But no, then they're called leveretts or kittens. So yeah, who knows what was

going on when people were naming these things. I just think of old timey scientists who were around the time when we still had a chance to name stuff, is just constantly drunk on meat or out of their minds, just eating everything they discover and just like, yes, we'll call this one a hair because it has hair, you know. Okay, So I had to go on a internet search to look at etymology and things of words because it's just

really good a bug me. So it's funny because if you do oxford oxford, just like a kit as small, it's a young cat, it's a baby cat, that's it. Or a stout free green and white moth, the caterpulart, which resembles that a puss moth. Okay, so that's how helpful at all. But march Wester comes in and she is saying a young cat, also an immature, a young individual of various other small animals. Okay, Miriam, thank you

for helping me get. Speaking of etymology, mad is a march hare is a saying derived from the hair's behavior during mating seasons. So both male and female hairs will box each other as they try to secure a mate. So males will box each other like jump up and like you can actually see photos of these things where

they look like they're boxing like their boxers. Uh. And males will fight each other to compete for a female, and females will beat up males that they do not want to mate with, sofa males like, hey baby, and she's not having any of it. She will, she will beat them up. Take him back the night, sister, I love it. Yeah. So, in terms of like what you're probably thinking of when you hear bunny or you think about the Easter bunny or peter rabbit is rabbits and

not hairs. And there are many species of wild rabbit. But we've also domesticated rabbits, so there are over thirty species of rabbits in the world and hundreds of breeds of domesticated rabbits, so there there's a lot of there's a lot of buns. They're like quickly browsing through all these photos. It feels like I have seen all these versions of different bunnies, but it never connected to me

that they were different. I thought they were just like personality different species, you know how like like one it's one bunny comes out with really long hair because it's really into as being style styling, and one just comes out real chunky. Its mother was a beauty queen and was she was ready, She was ready. I mean, a lot of the different breeds of rabbits are from one species, so you can compare it to breeds of dogs. So like at Chihuahua versus a Great Dane, they come out there,

they're genetically different, but they are all the same species. Okay, yeah, but we are going to talk more about bunnies and how how the gosh dang bunnies work, including white their own poop. When we get back from a very quick break, thank you, and we are back and it's my favorite time of the day. It's time to talk about rabbit digestive systems. Didn't I feel like I'm almost razzil school bus and I'm ready to take a journey through the

rabbit digestive systems. Well, school closs inside the rabbit, I believe you had a misfressolanick stunning. Let's get the magic school bus inside of the rabbit's poop and get eaten by the rabbit. Yeay, let's go. Arnold's like I knew I should have stayed home today as he's embedded in rabbit crap. Listen Arnold on that day. I agree with you. Look, I love science, but I agree with Arnold that it's weird to like go get small and go inside a human body, and that there's probably a lot of things

that could go wrong there. Do we think that was a hip of violation because it's a student's body, isn't She is sick and she exposes all these children to the sickness by going directly into the child as its parents. You know, I would have some concerns out put out of school and have a discussion. I can't really think of a worse hip of violation. Was this included on the field trip information slip? You know? Decided permission slip for you to go on the field trip. Were these

details included? I don't think so. Yeah, No, I mean like, there was an episode where she shrunk all the kids down to go see salmon spawning, and they went inside salmon eggs and a male salmon went and released sperm all over them. That was a real episode. By goodness, that's a little up too close and personal. Well what did you do to in school today, Arnold? Well, fish all over? It was foul, but it happened. It was for science and scientifically, and now I go to therapy. Thanks.

Oh but yeah, let's let's go inside of a rabbit's digestive system. So rabbits are herbivores and they eat grasses, weeds, and other vegetation. Rarely would they eat something like a carrot, although they appreciate such a thing. So they do need a real tough digestive system to be able to break down cellulose. And so what this means is, you know,

sometimes they got to eat their own poop. So cows and other ruminants will chew their cut they will regurgitate partially digested fermented food to be re chewed and re ingested to break down that tough grass. So rabbits are similar. Rabbits are copro phases, which means they eat their own duties, but it's a special duty. So they do poop out

normal pellets. Those are those hard round poops you find on your lawn, but they also poop out special cicco tropes icco tropes or poop that is similar to cow cut and that it is semi digested food that needs to be redigested in order to extract all the nutrients. So yeah, it's wild and that they know to do that. I feel like humans we need a lot of science to be like, oh, you know what, I have to re eat this dude fully and make sure I got

all the nutrients necessary. I mean, you gotta be Matt damon levels of science and beyond Mars and be like, I gotta turn my poop into potatoes and NASA necessary for survival on this red planet. Um I am mr Okay, okay is it? Because now I'm I'm thinking about my puppy and she likes to eat grass. She loves those grass and leaves, and so I'm constantly pulling on her and being like, no, that's not I pay so much money for you to eat actual food. Um, please don't

do this. But like my cousin was like, well, maybe she has a stomach ache her that I guess told her that dogs eat grass to like help himself, and I was like, I don't is that true? Uh yeah? Sometimes so by eating grass they can help like pass things through their digestive system, so it kind of like adds more fiber and it kind of supercharges the digestive system. But sometimes it helps them vomit as well if they

need to. But I have a suspicion that sometimes dogs just enjoy the flavor of grass, so it might not necessarily be a medical issue. I'd say, like if there's anything else going on wrong, like if if she's trying to eat it in excess, or she's not eating irregular food, or she has uh sort of irregular poops or or diarrhea or anything, that might be something to look into. But she might just destroy the flavor. That's I think

it's a flavor thing for her, for sure. We've had our early digestive scare, which all puppy owners help me is an essential part of having puppy um is early especially because she's a pit mix and so they have all kinds of crazy digestive issues. I've derailed our show from talking about. But but but she does like, yeah, so animals are will to me. Um, because I feel like I have to read Google to tell me if anything's going on. I'm like, that's kind of weird. What

does Google say about what's happening to my body? And for animals to just be like, no, I just gotta eat that poop again. I won't eat this poop, but I will eat that poop the special poop magical. Yeah, yeah, that's one way to describe poop eating. Uh. So other cool rabbit adaptations that keep them alive is how fast they are. So this is definitely a true thing. The

stereotype is true. These rabbits do get very fast. So rabbits and hairs are built for speed with huge back legs and feet, So brown hairs can reach speeds up to fifty miles per hour or eighty kilometers an hour. This is about as fast as a lion and faster than a greyhound or a tiger. So so they are very hard to catch. So street legal, Yeah, just doing donuts, doing donuts and like an old pet Boys parking lot. Yeah, they can also jump very big, big jumps. So that's

if you think rabbits can jump big, that's true. Actually, jack rabbits are real good at this. They can jump over nine ft or three meters in a single bound, and the record for a jack rabbits jump is about twenty feet or six meters, which is animal Olympics. I just don't know, Like, I feel like this jack rabbit might have juiced. You know, they tested that's gotta be what like six times they're body Yeah, I think did they test this jack rabbit for juice for putting the

juice in? You know? But I'm in the rabbit doping scandal. Uh. And hearing. They have those large years and they do help them here. So these large ears allow them to funnel in sound from far away, and they can move their ears independently to be able to zero in on sounds, and they can reposition them while they are flinging so

that they can be more aerodynamics. So if you have big ears, a problem would be like, hey, if I gotta run, you know, these years are gonna be like spoilers are going to get in the They're gonna slow down they're going to create drags, so they can fold those down over their heads so that as they are running they are still aero dynamic. Um and Joel, you had an extremely intelligent thought about rabbit ears, which is that, uh, that maybe they do something else other than hearing. They

do keep them cool. Yes, exactly, so for helping with thermal regulations. So hairs, those big old ears often live in hot climates and they use their giant ears as air conditioners in the extreme heat of the desert. And it's for the exact it's the exact mechanism that you guessed, Joel, which is that they have a large surface area a lot of these branching veins, and it helps cool down

their blood. Meanwhile, rabbits and colder regions have to rely on smaller ears so because they don't want to lose body heat. Even if a bigger ear might be able to hear better, they have to optimize for the smallest ear possible to still hear predators while not losing too much body heat. And yeah, they're hearing is excellent. They can hear a much wider range of sounds than humans. Uh, they can hear many more high frequency sounds. Than we can.

So while we can actually hear some lower frequency sounds that that rabbits can't hear, uh, they're still picking up a greater total of frequencies than us because they have so many more high frequency sounds that they can hear, and they have a three hundred and sixty degree range of vision due to the position of their eyes on either side of their head, So you can typically tell a prey species from a predator species just based on

the location of their eyes. So if an animal has eyes on the side of its head, uh, that is usually a sign that they are prey species because they are optimized for a wide angle view to detect any threat coming towards them, whereas front facing eyes can help you see with greater precision and depth perception, but with a narrower field of view, which is helpful when you are hunting, but less helpful when you're trying to avoid being snuck up upon by predators. And so a rabbit's

main strategy for escaping predation is running away speed. Sometimes they'll freeze if they don't think they've been detected yet, so that they can just kind of, you know, like the kids in Jurassic Park. Just try to stay still.

Rabbits who are social and live in warrens will often warn each other of danger, so they will use their big back legs to thump the ground, which sends out Yeah, thumper exactly sends out a powerful vibration and resonant sound that will warn the other bunnies that they gotta get back in the warren and hide. But if all else fails, they will fight back. They are not pacifists. So yes, this is what I've been waiting for. How do rabbits

enter the arena music? What is their weapon of choice? They? Well, they fill a sock full of bricks. Now. They have uh, powerful back legs that, while they are mainly for running away, they can deliver quite a kick. And they do have claws. So being able to do a really powerful kick and having long clause means they can actually do some good damage. They can they can mess up a predator if you have a cat. Uh sometimes a rabbit can really hurt

a cat with these claws. So they also have long, powerful teeth which typically are used to tear through tough vegetation, but they will also eagerly use these in a fight for their lives. So they will do whatever they can to avoid becoming dinner. Uh. And yeah, I mean that they are not as cute as they are. They're certainly not help helpless prey animals, and they are tasty, So it's good that they have some defenses because otherwise that's

how you end up stew well. As bugs Bunny knows, yeah, you think you're taking a hot bath, but then they start adding in carrots and you're like, wait a minute, I'm the soup that always freaked me out as a kid when bugs Bunny was in a boiling pot. And he's like, oh, what smells so good? Oh yeah, it's me my boiling flesh. Oh no, I'm a cannibal. Whoops. Despite all of their amazing adaptations, most wild rabbits have a fast and tough life, living on average only about

a year in the wild. Yeah. This is due to predation and rough conditions. They can live longer, but yeah, on average. Uh, there is a pretty high mortality rate. Domesticated rabbits, on the other hand, can live to be around ten years, with the oldest domesticated European rabbit living eighteen years. Whoa. Okay, we have to pause and say our humans people of doing one good thing for animals. Amazing.

I mean, it is incredible to me that like, by being domesticated, they live longer, some mazing healthier, happier lives. That's awesome. Yeah, I mean they not at all rabbit should enter domestication, right, But it's interesting because I think it's it's not necessarily just genetics. I think it's because they are cared for, so being in captivity and having the risks of predation and the their environments such that they have access to food like that definitely increases their lifespans.

So that's good news for people who have a rabbit as a pet, bad news for people who impulsively bought a rabbit as a pet. Now you have, uh, something that can live up to eighteen years, so again, research research pets before you get them. Also that that means so the rabbit can smoke, right, No, no, no wait, no no no, no that's not right. Yeah, it's not drinking either. No no you can't. No no, you don't

want a rabbit with cerrosis. That's just sad, right, But the rabbits could sign up for the military, they can write at eighteen years old, they can vote, so you know, goodtriotic bunny eggs. Actly, yeah, probably only get one election in though it's a rap make their boat. So now we're going to talk about some incredible bunny species and breeds. We are just they. I love bunnies. They're so cute.

They're so interesting too. So this is a rabbit that we've actually talked about on the show before, but I cannot do a rabbit episode without mentioning. This is the Mommy rabbit. It is the most ancient species of rabbit in the world. It is endangered and found only on two small Japanese islands, ami amani Oshima and toku Noshima. So they are black, and they look like kind of like an almost rabbit like if you imagine, like what would a prehistoric rabbit look like? I think is kind

of fit the bill. They have shorter ears and less pronounced hind legs, but they're definitely starting to get that classic rabbit shape. It looks like a miniature kangaroo. I'm not gonna lie. It was like it's got like a very very round body like. Yes, the legs and back

are larger, little hands. Oh my god, it does look more supial like, and I think What's interesting about that is that marsupials diverged from other mammals really early on, and so this being a really ancient species of rabbit, it has that kind of marsupial look which it shares with other really old species of animals. And yeah, that that is a really interesting observation. It's nifty looking. So now let's talk about the biggest bunny in the world.

The biggest bunny. Who's the biggest bunny? So the largest rabbit in the world is actually a domesticated species. It is the Flemish giant rabbit. Oh my god, I want to snuggle it. I want to boot that snoop. I want to boot the snoot. It's a big snoot to boot. So it is a breed of domesticated European rabbit and they weigh around fifteen pounds, which is almost seven kilograms, but record holders can weigh over twenty pounds or tens.

The longest rabbit ever recorded is a Flemish rabbit and it reaches over four ft long or one point three meters from the tip of their little boopable snoot to the back of their legs. Is a big bunny? Is that big bunny you oh my god. But also the fairy is luxurious, like if you seem like mink or like a chinchilla before it's giving me those vibes, be oh god, I bet it's so just great to pay.

Oh my god. They're also very apparently quite docile in terms of pet rabbits, so they tolerate being held pretty well. If you can lift the ding thing. Look at that chunkster. Oh okay. So obviously more research is required, but I am definitely looking into the fumage giant rabbit. What a baby if you have the budget for a billion carras well. Now let's talk about the smallest buns in the world. Wat baby buns. So this smallest bunny in the world is a wild species called the pygmy rabbit found in

North America. On average, they weigh just under a pound, so dred grams. They have a maximum body length under a foot around twenties four centameters. And when I'm talking about body length, I mean like if you stretch out the bunny like you hold hold the bunny under the belling, you know, eat the bunnies all kind of like stretched out um from like the tip of their nose to

to their butt area. That's how long they get. But if they're once, when they're in that kind of classic like little bunny sitting position, you can just if you hold out both your hands and cut them, you could PLoP that rabbit right in there like a little scooba ice cream you. The smallest domesticated rabbit is the another Land dwarf rabbit, and it's just hair bigger than the pygmy rabbit. Pun intended. I'm I'm a mean person. Um. It is a teeny tiny little thing with short ears

and round bodies. They could not survive in the wild. No. Just looking at it, I'm like, you need humans to help you because otherwise death. Oh. Like the it's the pug of like the rabbit world. It is this little, tiny, squishy baby. My heart is melting looking at although the I'm not it's all white with like a red and yellow eye. I'm not gonna lie. That one looks kind of demonic. But then there's this other one that's really fluffy grained cheek ease, Oh my god, yeah, they're both.

Those are both the Netherland dwarf rabbits. Just one is a all white coat and the other one is a longer haired gray coat and yeah, very cute. I wanna wanna kiss kiss his little nose. Uh. And so they have very short, petite ears, but the biggest ears get quite big. So oh my god, oh my god. So the domesticated species called or domesticated breed called the English lop has the biggest ears, and a record holder has

ears over thirty or seventy nine centimeters long. So I feel like if you put this rabbit and like a cartoonish, you know, sling, and then like try to launch it, I think you'd get a bit of air. Okay, you know that song? Do your ears saying low? Do they broke? Can you tie him in a boat? This? He can tie his in a boat? Okay. They must trip over them and they trag on the floor. What did we do this to them? Did we breathe them? Because I thought it was adorable? We are monsters, were also this.

This is how I feel about pure bred dogs as well. It's like a cute, but we're also monsters. They're horrible. But oh my god, you can't even see one of these bunnies for all of their ears and see a little nose and then just its ears draped around it. That's the record holder. I'm sure the care that you have to do for those ears is just intense. Yeah, you know. And it's not like you can tie them. It's not like you have long hair, like I'll just tie these back for the day because that's got to

be painful. And they're a little joint things. Oh no, but in a a towel. Time up in a towel. Now, yeah, you got you got a rich luxury people brand of bunny. They have like a servant for their bunnies ear specifically, a special caretaker deals with this ling. The bunny butler, the bun butler. The longest fur is, of course, anga rabbits. They are ridiculous poofball. The record holder is a bunny, an Ingora rabbit who has for over a foot long or thirty six centimeters long. Just looks like a star

Trek triple. This thing, yes it does. It looks exactly like a star Trek triple. I want to blue dry its hair. I want to put it in a Pantine pro v commercial to get out, bounce it around like, oh my god, It's face just becomes subsumed by the fur, like I can't even see the bunny face barely because it's just getting It's just it's just all fluff. And I actually got this really lovely listener email about Angora bunnies that I would like to share with you from

someone who owns Angora bunnies. Um so this is from Kayla, who writes to me, I got to share some bunny facts with you. This is my two year old satin and gore rabbit. She is my emotional support animal and has superpowers in her wool. When I first got her, I consumed so many bun facts that I thought you might enjoy. I've included pictures of her post sharing and just loafing around buns love loafing and Joel. I have show shared with you the picture of this incredible bun

with the incredible buns. Like the little bunny tushy just a poof. I really like it's a little fishy. It's so big. I it has them is a perfect name because it's like in uh brunette redhead sort of vibes going on gorgeous, your very gorgeous. Yes, you have a beautiful bunny. You have a beautiful bun. And I don't mean that in a weird way. But Kayla wrote a bunch of bunny facts that I do want to share with you guys because I think these are really fascinating.

So Kayla writes, rabbit wool is the strongest and warmest wool available. It is arguably the softest and a little goes a long way in keeping you warm. Amazing, and oh with Ngora like they don't. This is my note. I'm saying this, like with Ingora's sweaters and stuff. They they share the rabbit like they do with um sheep. So it's not it's not rabbit skin, it's just the

wool that makes me feel better. Yes, the best. And then Kayla writes, the best way to share a bun is not to trim, which I did, gosh it was hard, but to brush and pluck during one of their four sheddings per year. Plucking does not hurt the bun when the fur is already detached. It just helps them get that wool off of their new coat. So that's interesting. So you're just kind of brushing them out and you're

getting wool by petting them. I love that. It's it's like soothing for you helps the bunduct afterwards love that trifecta. I think that's the truth. That's also the case for the case for yaks. Maybe I think with like a yak hair uh or some I think might be thinking of some other big hooved, fuzzy animal, But I think with yak hair, you you have to collect it by just brushing them. You don't share them or anything. You go um or like they leave clumps behind because they're shedding,

and you go and collect the clumps. Uh. Yeah, I guess these angora rabbits do shed quite well, which I guess if you're gonna own one, you better be prepared. Listen, you're just buster ready. I've got special pet vacuums, a literal godsend. They just get all of it up and they're not going to die on you, which is what

you need. I really wish. I man, it just sounds very therapy to be like, I'm just gonna brush my animal for a little bit and a sweater, right, and then we'll just spin that wool up and make a little sweater, and my life is peaceful and everything that I own gives back to me in other ways. I just want to go to a bunny farm now. I live on a self sustaining farm. Everything breeds new things, go on a bun farm and then make little sweaters

and then put the sweaters on other bunnies. Yes, so Kayla also continues, some angoras can spend their shedding wool right off of them. There's YouTube videos showing off this cool technique. What bunnies even enjoys settling down or napping while being plucked or spun because you're doing them a

huge favor. So I imagine when she said, say, like talks about plucking your you're very gently like pulling on the first of the loose stuff comes out, and so they can like spin it right off the rabbit, and they're jill about it because it's like you're, oh, man, I know it's been so long in pandemic, but once once we all get our vaccines and get out of here, like going to the hair salon and having them walk brush your hair and wash your hair, I miss it.

I love it, uh it I have. I've been really really good about my quarantine, like I can't mess around and a lot of different blots in my body. But the way I miss my salon and my stylist was emailing her and I was like, so, talk to me again about procedure. How are you doing hair? How can I be there and get this color correct? Because you know, a year and a half is that my color is now on my ends. Everything else is my natural color. I have to re emerge into society. I can't wait.

These bunnies, I'm envious. Kayle also writes that angoras must be brush regardless of care style, otherwise the buns can get wool blocks in their tummies. Oh no, bunnies can't vomit or process these blockages. They can enter g I stasis and this is apparently lethal. So yeah, you got. If you get angora, you gotta brush your bun. You gotta brush your bun. Make sure you take care of

your rabbits, your little bunnies. But I really, oh man, oh man, do I wish I had to like just brush your bunny as this is part of its care. This isn't even fushun. Yeah no, this is a medical procedure. I'm a doctor, I'm a bunny doctor, and I'm brushing this bunny. You don't even know. He could face life threatening things if I do not brush him. This bunny needs twenty c ss of brushes stack. Hayle also writes that bunnies purr when content are happy. They softly grind

their teeth, making a little purring noise. Very cute. They also honk, but they that's usually during courtship. Wow, horny honk and bunnies uh, grinding their little teeth together when they're when they're purring. Amazing. I thought we had reached peak cuteness, and then I learned the bunnies pur and now I live in a new age. It's a new day. Yeah, and so Kyles says, those were some fun, fun facts. They're really cool to learn about. I hope you enjoy my baby Ember. She has a red coat, so she's

extra special since that's a rare coloration. Thank you, Kaylea so much for your email. I also agree having red hair is very special and great. I am Kayla, thank you. Thank you really improved my life with these facts. Imber is a diva. She's beautiful. She is gorgeous. I love the man, but though glorious a little puffy bunny. But well, I think we've done it. I think we have explored the world of bunnies, just in time for the bunny season. Um and yeah, did you enjoy a trip down Cottontail Lane?

Or wait what here comes Peter Cottontail? Yeah for the rabbit hippy easters on its way? Do do eaten all his poopy poops? I wasn't prepared? I did. I did have a lot of fun. Um. I love rabbits. My favorite book coming up was Peter Cottontail. I read it a lot. Beatrice knew what she was doing with her cute littleted a legend. She was aware, she was a legendary. Amazing, her illustrations amazing, so pretty. I'm going to try to resist adopting a bunny as I think my pi. Would

you know, think food? No't what that would be the worst thing ever. Oh no, now I'm sad again. Well, thank you so much for joining me today. Where can the people find you? Oh man, thank you for having me back, Katie. I missed doing the show and learning all of the adorable animal facts. Um, my name is Joel Monique. You can find me all over the internet at Joel Monique. That's j O E l o E m O win I q e um. I'm over at fake Doctor's real friends were still in down production a bit.

There's the guys head back to work. We're still having a lot of fun recapping every episode of Scrubs ever. Um, Yes and undertaking. And I have a new podcast coming out in May. It is a Star Wars podcast. It's called The Black Side. It's being Donald talking Star Wars once a week where we break down a classic movie. Maybe we're look at some of the TV shows, reading some of the comics of the books, like interviews with the authors. It's a good time. Un check us out

on Maybe they're bunnies in Star Wars. You know, I can't tell you that right now. Listen, there are very cute animals in Star Wars. And after this, uh, a little interview here, I'll give you some inside Star War school. The other day, I'm getting juicy inside details that you guys can't hear. Back at everyone, Sorry, I don't mean that.

I love you guys. Thank you so much for listening. Uh. You can find the podcast on the internet at Creature Feature Pod on Instagram, at Creature feet Pod on Twitter. That's EPI a t not epy et something very different. Uh. And you can send me your bunny pictures or whatever, any pets, any question, any comments to Creature feature pod at gmail dot com and I'm Kate Golden. You probably knew that, but here it is again, and thank you so much. If you want to leave a rating or review,

that actually really helps. And I read them all and I really appreciate that. Uh so, thank you everyone who have reviewed the podcast. I've read it all makes me happy, it warms my my little rabbit heart. And thanks to the Space Classics for their super awesome song ex Alumina. Creature features a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts like the ones you just heard, Busy I Heart Radio, app Apple Podcast, or Hey Guess what Raby? Listen to

your favorite shows. Check out you all new podcast coming out soon sure uh yeah, and listen have have have a hotty have a hoppy April. Hey, let's do it by guys you next Wednesday. Doo do doo to do Do Do Do Do Woo do doo do doo do