Many animal species possess remarkable abilities that put ours to shame. Dogs, for instance, boast an incredible sense of smell that’s around 10,000 to 100,000 times more powerful than ours. Wax moths can hear sound frequencies up to an astonishing 300,000 Hz.
And then you’ve got animals that can see in the dark as if it were the bright of day.
So, can rabbits see in the dark?
Rabbits can see exceptionally well in poorly lit conditions. However, they don’t have true night vision, meaning they can’t see when it’s pitch black.
In today’s article, we’ll be exploring rabbit vision and how well these animals can see in the dark. So let’s get started!
Why Rabbits Can See in Dim Light
To understand how rabbits can see in dim light, we must understand how the eye works.
All creatures capable of sight have eyes made up of different parts. In the retina at the back of each eye are millions of microscopic sensory receptors known as cones and rods. Cones specialize in detecting color. Because the rods are what help rabbits see in dim light, we’ll be focusing on them for now.
When light hits the rods, they send information to the brain that’s then interpreted as images, thus allowing creatures to see their environment.
Rods also help creatures see in different light levels. Compared to humans, rabbits have far more rods than cones, which explains why they can see better in the dark than us. In fact, their eyes are 8 times more light-sensitive than ours, and because of this, they can see clearly despite a weak light source. So while we humans would be groping around in a dimly lit environment, a rabbit would be navigating it with ease.
The rabbit’s eyesight is also at its sharpest when the light is dim, allowing these animals to forage for food even when there’s barely any sunlight. Small wonder they’re crepuscular, or most active during dawn and dusk.
Why Rabbits Can’t See in Total Darkness
Some animals have eyes boasting a structure called the tapetum lucidum, which gives them the night vision they need to make out every detail in a lightless environment. This structure is reflective, so if an animal’s eyes glow in the dark (like a cat’s or fox’s), then it likely has a tapetum lucidum.
Rabbits don’t have this tapetum lucidum, so while they can see extremely well in poorly lit conditions, they’re essentially blind in total darkness. This is why nighttime is particularly scary for these animals.
Like human eyes, rabbit eyes adjust to the available light, allowing them to discern some but not all environmental details when it’s extremely dark. And the darker it is, the less they see.
Their lack of night vision is perhaps another reason why rabbits evolved to be crepuscular rather than nocturnal. Nocturnal animals (such as bats, foxes, and owls) are most active at night; they have either night vision or some other heightened sense that allows them to accurately perceive their surroundings despite a lack of light. As rabbits can see best when there’s little light, they’re awake and alert during dawn and dusk.
Being crepuscular provides rabbits protection against two types of predators: diurnal and nocturnal. Unlike diurnal animals, rabbits aren’t active during the daytime, typically staying hidden within their underground burrows while the sun is still high in the sky. This helps them avoid predators that do their hunting during the day. Similarly, being inactive during the night lets them avoid nocturnal predators.
How to Make Your Rabbit More Comfortable in the Dark
The night is a scary time for a wild rabbit given it can’t see at all in the total darkness where nocturnal predators prowl.
Things are different for your pet bunny, however. After all, it’s protected by the walls and roof of your home, not to mention it’s got you to take care of it.
But what if your rabbit is afraid of the dark? Constant fear can cause this animal a lot of stress and anxiety, which in turn can lead to problematic behaviors and even a decline in overall health. For these reasons, it’s your responsibility as its owner to ensure it always feels safe come nighttime.
Below are the various ways you can help your pet overcome its fear of the dark.
Keep your rabbit indoors when it’s dark
It’s a good idea to let your bunny out into the yard for a few hours every day. This will allow it to stretch its legs and engage in mind-nourishing exploration, keeping it from getting bored and frustrated.
However, when night falls, make sure to bring your rabbit inside the house. With a roof over its head and walls around it, it won’t have to worry about being unable to see predators in the trees or sky.
Provide your rabbit with company
There’s a reason rabbits live in large groups: numbers make them feel safer against predators. This is why responsible pet stores and breeders often sell rabbits in pairs.
Therefore, if you want your pet to feel more comfortable at night, get another rabbit to keep it company (preferably of the opposite sex so they don’t fight). You can also spend more time with your pet every night.
Keep your rabbit entertained
Giving your bunny lots of amusing things to do will distract it from the scariness of the night.
Rabbits love eating, so ensure your rabbit has a steady supply of fresh hay. You should also give it interesting toys to play with.
Modify your rabbit’s hutch
You can modify your rabbit’s hutch so that it provides extra protection.
Rabbits can recognize how frail wire is. In fact, your bunny might have already chewed through its own hutch foil – and if it can chew through wire, so can predators. Therefore, you should use a Perspex cover for your rabbit’s hutch, instead. This not only offers additional security but also blocks potentially frightening outside stimuli.
Alternatively, you can cover the hutch with a towel or tarpaulin every night.
You can also insulate the hutch to soundproof it. This will prevent your bunny from hearing terrifying noises, such as those made by foxes or owls outside your home.
Give your rabbit a separate sleep area at night
Offer your bunny a separate area where it can stay at night. An upside-down cardboard box, which your pet can retreat into when it’s dark, should make it feel like it’s surrounded by a protective barrier, thus making it feel safer.
Allow your rabbit to burrow
Provide your rabbit with lots of hay to hide under. This will appeal to its wild instinct to dig and hide in an underground hole, thus making it feel protected against predators.
Why You Shouldn’t Give Your Rabbit a Night Light
It seems to make sense: if rabbits are afraid of the dark, why not just give them a night light or leave the light on for them when the sun’s gone down?
There are several reasons why this is a bad idea.
First of all, bright light hurts rabbits’ eyes, while too much light can lead to stress. And as we stated earlier, stress can cause a rabbit’s health to deteriorate and even make it behave in inappropriate ways.
If a bunny sees light, it’ll assume it’s time to become active. It’ll therefore stay awake all night and attempt to get out of its hutch. In the process, it can make a racket or even damage the hutch. In the long run, this can ruin the rabbit’s sleep-wake cycle and consequently its daily schedule, which can be frustrating for a creature that loves routine. It can even affect the bunny’s body clock.
Is your bunny’s hutch outdoors? Then an external power source is required to get the night light to work. Your pet can easily chew through this wire, putting itself in danger of electrocution as it destroys said wire.
More Fascinating Rabbit Vision Facts!
Here are more amazing facts about rabbit vision!
Rabbits can see all around them… almost
The rabbit has eyes on either side of its head, which allows it to see all around its body, including behind and above it.
This anatomical configuration is extremely beneficial as it allows the bunny to easily detect predators attempting to sneak up on it from the back, side, or overheard, allowing it to flee before it’s too late.
The rabbit does have a blind spot directly in front of it, however, which explains why it may not notice an item placed right in front of its face. This is also why bunnies are generally clumsy, knocking or tripping over things just ahead of them.
Rabbits have poor depth perception
Predatory animals such as humans, dogs, and cats have front-facing eyes, allowing us to see what’s directly in front of us. Due to this anatomical design, a portion of each eye’s vision overlaps with the other’s. This gives us good depth perception, which enhances our ability to determine how close or distant something in front of us is.
In contrast, because the rabbit has eyes on either side of its head, there is little overlap in its vision. Thus, its depth perception is poorer than ours. As such, the bunny has to move its head up and down to judge the distance between itself and whatever it’s focusing on. It knows when something is near or far because faraway items don’t move as much as nearby items.
This poor depth perception also means the rabbit’s vision is quite blurry when it’s looking at something close to it – another reason for its clumsiness. It also explains why your pet bunny may sometimes have a hard time recognizing you when you’re nearby, especially when you’re holding something strange or wearing clothes that make you look extremely different.
Rabbits can only see two colors
Contrary to what some believe, rabbits aren’t colorblind.
As discussed earlier, animals have millions of cones and rods at the back of their eyes. The rods let the brain interpret information about the environment as black-and-white images, thus allowing creatures to see in grayscale. However, because the cones specialize in detecting color, creatures are able to see a colorful world.
Humans have three types of cones, specifically red, blue, and green, which allows us to see variations of these three colors. In contrast, rabbits only have two types of cones: blue and green. This means they can only see variations of blue and green.
Rabbits can see farther than humans
Rabbits are better at seeing distant objects than humans – another evolutionary adaptation that helps them survive predators.
While feeding in a field, the wild rabbit can spot a predator such as a coyote from far away. It then thumps its foot on the ground to alert its underground friends to danger before fleeing to safety.
This far-sightedness is one of the reasons why rabbits are so skittish. You may not see the predatory animal prowling in the distant bushes. But to a rabbit, said animal is a clear and present danger.
Rabbits can sleep with their eyes open
While rabbits usually sleep with their eyes closed, they can sleep with their eyes open whenever they feel the need to remain alert so they can escape at a moment’s notice. Given they have a more dangerous environment, wild rabbits are more likely to do this than domesticated bunnies. After all, why would a rabbit that feels safe and secure need to watch out for danger?
In Conclusion…
Because their eyes have far more rods than cones, rabbits can see extremely well in dim light. However, due to the absence of a structure known as tapetum lucidum, bunnies are blind in total darkness. Both these reasons explain why wild rabbits forage at dawn and dusk and stay hidden during the daytime and nighttime.
If your pet bunny is afraid of the dark, there are various ways you can make it feel more comfortable, including giving it company, modifying its hutch, keeping it entertained, offering it a separate sleeping area, and allowing it to burrow under a pile of hay. Never give your pet a night light as this can have adverse effects on its health.