The European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is common throughout Hertfordshire and the rest of the UK. It has a body length of between 34 and 50 cm and a tail length of between 4 and 8 cm. The rabbit weighs between 1 and 2.5 kg and are a greyish/brown colour.

Rabbits will eat almost all vegetation they can get hold of, this will include grass, weeds, plants, bulbs, bark, trees and also various agricultural crops.

Rabbits live underground in burrows (rabbit holes) which when grouped together are called a warren. Rabbit warrens can be found almost anywhere the rabbit is able to dig but are typically found around the edges of fields, in hedgerows, meadows, forests, embankments, cliffs and grassland.

Rabbits graze heavily and rapidly for roughly the first half hour of a grazing period, usually in the late afternoon. This is followed by about half an hour of more selective feeding, a time when the rabbit will excrete many hard fecal pellets.

Rabbits are fairly active at night and also again at dawn, however if the rabbits are in a safe environment where they aren’t threatened they can remain outside for several hours. During these hours they will graze on nearby food at intervals.