How High Can Rabbits Jump?

It is common for everybody to think that rabbits are adorable and cute. Families or especially little girls would really love to have a rabbit at their home. When somebody thinks of a rabbit, the first image in their mind may be the continuous jump of this animal. So, do you ever wonder “how high can rabbits jump”? Let’s together find out the answer.

How high can rabbits jump?

1. Rabbit’s jumping habit

Jumping is sure to be the favorite thing to do of rabbits. They were born to jump. Some may hop through severe lands like snow and deserts, whereas some hop through jungles and wetlands.

There might be a little different in various families of rabbits, but one same characteristic that they share is that they always leap using their hind legs. Those legs are powerful and give rabbits the ability to make their fast move away from predators.

They can sometimes stand on those back legs to observe around or thump them strongly on the ground as a warning to their colonies.

Fun fact:

When rabbits are excited, they can perform their favorite binky jump – to leap into the air and at the same time twist their bodies. This is known as their signal of happiness.

2. How high can a rabbit jump?

Some people say that a rabbit can reach 2 feet (60.96 cm) vertically, while some state that they ever saw rabbits jump as high as 4 feet (121.92 cm).

Unfortunately, in case a rabbit is domesticated as a pet, they can’t even make a leap of 2 feet. It is easily understandable for some reason.

• First, they are well fed and always in good care, which makes them fatter and heavier than the usual weight.
• Second, different from wild rabbits, they don’t have to do much running and jumping as there’s no proper motivation for them.
• Thirdly, when caged, there’s not much space for pet bunnies to jump and enhance their skills.
• Lastly, wild rabbits never stop moving so as to survive the predators.

3. How high should a rabbit pen be?

Upon having a pet bunny, you are supposed to think of preparing a pen that is not only wide but also high enough for your bunny to move around, to let them have some free space and to prevent them from jumping out of the pen.

To have a good size of a pen, you need to estimate how high your rabbit will reach when it is mature. The common rule is that a pen should be 2.5 times taller than the height of a mature rabbit upon standing on their back legs.

Normally, it is ideal to have your pen at 30 inches high. There are some common variations that you can follow depending on the rabbit type: 24”, 30”, 36”, 42” or 48”.

4. How high should a garden fence be for protection against wild rabbits?

Wild rabbits are a threat to your vegetable garden. They are highly fond of vegetables or ornamental plants, especially during seasons when their habitats are affected.

To protect the plants, you should make a 3-feet-tall garden fence. This will work best for the 2-feet rabbit leap in average. Don’t forget to bury it at least 6 inches in the ground as they might dig if can’t jump over.

Signs of a garden destroyed by rabbits

• Look at the plants: the cut looks angled and sharp, or the trunks and vines get bitten in a circle.
• Look on the ground: some round droppings in the size of 0.25 – 0.5 inch.
• Footprints: 2 small front feet along with 2 large back feet.

How high can a rabbit fall without hurting himself?

It is important to note that a secure distance for a rabbit’s vertical leap is 4 feet, meaning that a rabbit is in its comfort zone upon jumping from the height of 4 feet.

Normally, when rabbits sense potential danger, they tend to jump without any hesitation from whatever height they are being at. Sometimes, this unexpected jump might be harmful to their joints and bones, which is dangerous for an older rabbit as his elasticity is reduced. Not often but death and mental problem are sadly other results.

Read more: How Many Litters Can A Rabbit Have In A Year?

Can a bunny jump from the bed or sofa?

Yes, pet bunnies can easily jump on and off a bed. To check whether it safe for your rabbit to do it, try putting them by the bed. If it is able to reach the bed by standing on their back legs, it is fine.

How about sofas? You can apply the same method to check.

To minimize accidents, there should be a carpet on the floor to create a soft landing and nothing can block them while jumping.

Can a bunny jump from human’s arms?

Rabbits might jump out of a human’s arms if they feel insecure or scared. If your bunny seems to let you hug them, make sure that you follow the correct steps of holding a bunny.

• Place your one hand under your rabbit’s chest.
• The other hand should be under the hindquarters.
• When you’re ready, scoop it up and hold it against your chest.
• Make sure you hold them firmly, but not too strong to make them feel afraid.
• When your rabbit appears anxious or tired, it’s time to put it down.

How to train pet rabbits to jump over something?

Relating to jumping, there is a rabbit hopping competition called Kaninho, which appeared in Sweden in the 1970s, and then spread to other European countries, Australia and the U.S. The world record of highest and longest rabbit jumping is 42 inches (106 cm) in 2019, and 9.88 feet (301 cm) in 2017.

If you want to train your lovely bunny to jump, below is the procedure to refer to. Remember rabbits are intelligent animals, and with your patience, they will be good at what they are taught.

• Let your rabbit get used to and follow a target.
• Pick a safe training area: large enough, and non-slippery.
• First, let him investigate an object (a basket, a hula hoop, etc).
• Use the object as an obstacle for him to jump over.
• Put the object about 2 inches (5 cm) above the floor.
• Create more challenges by raising the object higher and higher.
• Use some verbal signals like “Jump” along with the target.
• When he is ready, put aside the target and make a real test. Challenge him to follow your order.

You should divide the training into several sessions instead of a long one to prevent your rabbit from being exhausted.

Conclusion

To acknowledge “How high can rabbits jump?” is important as it will enable you to know how to build the home for your pets, how to keep your bunnies safe, or how to protect your gardens from rabbits. Anyway, rabbits are so cute that you don’t want them to get hurt or have any unexpected problems, so make sure you have done enough research about this animal before adopting one.