What Is The Difference Between Rabbit And Hare

Homesteading 101: What Is The Difference Between Rabbit and Hare

The difference between rabbits and hares is not always easy to remember and this leaves many hobby farmers and rabbit owners wondering if those mysterious hares are just wild rabbits or if there is a greater difference between the two.

Rabbits and hares are actually from different genera in the same animal family. As such, they are like distantly related cousins that get along just fine but cannot successfully mate. 

Let’s take a better look at just how rabbits and hares are different.

The Difference Between Rabbit and Hare Explained

According to scientific classification each animal is placed in increasingly smaller and more specific groupings. 

You may remember this from middle school science (think kingdom, phylum, class, etc…). 

The result is a specific scientific name for each animal that is composed of the two smallest and most descriptive classification subsets: their genus and their species

This specific name allows all animals to be referred to ‘correctly’ no matter what local language or common name for them is used across the world. 

This scientific name is also always in latin.

For example, rabbits are scientifically known as Oryctolagus cuniculus. (domesticated rabbits have the added ‘domesticus’ at the end just to be more descriptive!) 

This means they come from the Oryctolagus genus and are the cuniculus species.

Now if two animals are very closely related, such as the horse (Equus caballus) and the donkey (Equus asinus), they will share the same genus but different species. 

Interbreeding can occur between such animals although the hybrid offspring is usually sterile, as is the case with mules. 

Scientific Names – The Most Important Difference Between Bunny And Hare

Understanding the organization of animals’ scientific names is key to noticing the true difference between hares and rabbits. 

As stated, the rabbits we raise and keep on homesteads and in our houses are Oryctolagus cuniculus domesticus while wild rabbits we see around our houses are simply Oryctolagus cuniculus

These two types of bunnies are really very, very similar (domestic rabbits are more of a variation than a whole new species) and they can and will interbreed! 

However, hares’ scientific classification is different from that of rabbits. 

Hares are of the Lepus genus, not the Oryctolagus genus; their scientific name will therefore always start with this word! 

For example, a jackrabbit (whose common name is very misleading) is a hare with the scientific name of Lepus californicus.

Scientific Classification of Rabbits and Hares 

Classification UnitRabbitsHares
KingdomAnimalia Animalia 
PhylumChordataChordata
ClassMammaliaMammalia
OrderLagomorphaLagomorpha
Family LeporidaeLeporidae
GenusOryctolagusLepus

What The Difference Between Rabbit and Hare Means

Now it is true that rabbits and hares are from the same animal family (a larger and less specific classification rank) of Leporidae. 

But this is really where their similarities end. 

Rabbits and hares have different physical attributes such as ear length, body size, fur type, and more. 

They also exhibit unique behaviors

For example, rabbits are naturally very social while hares naturally live most of their lives solo.

Furthermore, rabbits and hares live very different life cycles.

The developmental contrast between newborn baby rabbits and hares is drastic and their respective mating seasons are not synced. 

To learn more about these grand differences, check out our post on Rabbits vs. Hares

The Biggest Difference Between Hares and Rabbits Are Blocks To Reproduction

By far the biggest difference between hares and rabbits is that they cannot breed. 

That’s right, although these two small lagomorphs may look a lot alike to the untrained eye, rabbits and hares cannot mate

This is because hares and bunnies are truly too distantly related to share compatible reproductive systems. 

What Is The Difference Between Rabbit And Bunny?

Rabbits and bunnies are technically the same animal! 

The only difference is that people tend to use the word ‘bunny’ for a young, immature rabbit. 

However, you can truly use the word bunny and rabbit interchangeably. 

Final Thoughts On What Is The Difference Between Rabbit and Hare

Although they are both lagomorphs, rabbits and hares have been recognized as being otherwise so distinctly different from each other that they are classified differently scientifically. 

Indeed, unlike domestic rabbits and wild rabbits, hares cannot breed with any rabbit! 

This means all homesteaders and rabbit raisers don’t have to worry about their local hares messing around with outdoor rabbits – instead, best keep an eye on those wild rabbits! 

This video does a great job of highlighting some of the main differences between bunny rabbits and hares

And watch this video for a few quick facts about hares! 

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