![]() ![]() Lagomorphs were originally classified in the order rodentia, or rodents, until 1912, when researchers recognized that they had several distinct features lacking in rodents. They reach sexual maturity, able to reproduce, in four to six months. In rabbits and hares, the young are weaned, stop feeding on their mother's milk, at about one or two months of age. Most mothers visit the young in their nest once a day, usually between midnight and 5:00 A. There is extremely limited parental care of babies in lagomorphs. The gestation period is twenty-five to fifty days, with the longer periods occurring in hares. ![]() Females have multiple litters per year with litter sizes of two to eight babies on average, although it can be as high as fifteen babies. Generally the breeding season in the wild is spring and summer. Rabbits breed throughout the year, depending on climate. Babies are born blind and nearly hairless but grow quickly, reaching adult size in forty to fifty days. Females breed for a second time shortly after the first litter is born and usually produce a second litter before the end of summer. Litters consist of two to six babies and are cared for exclusively by the mother. The gestation period, the time the females carry their young in the womb, is about thirty days. Female pikas reach sexual maturity at about one year of age. Pikas breed in the spring, with peak breeding occurring in May and early June. The warren consists of a maze of burrows and chambers. They live in "warrens" or groups of six to twelve adults controlled by a dominant male. ![]() Most rabbits and hares in the wild live solitary lives, although they will often graze together, and are not territorial. Rabbits and hares have similar differences in social organization. There is a lot of interaction between family members, including grooming, playing, and sleeping together. Families of up to thirty individuals live within burrows and there are about ten family groups within a territory. Burrowing pikas, in contrast, are extremely social animals. Pikas in rocky areas of Asia live in pairs within a communal territory. Those that live in rocky areas of North America are unsocial, with males and females having separate territories and rarely interacting except to mate. Pikas have several types of social structures. ![]()
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