Why do bunnies hop?

Pets

	Tweet	Pin It

0

by Mya Kagan (whyzz writer) >> more about the author

You’ve probably noticed that lots of animals have different ways of getting around, and that each animal’s special mode of transportation is helpful to that animal for its very own reason!

When it comes to bunnies, hopping is the way to go! The reason why rabbits hop is that they’re built with strong back legs that are good for pushing up off the ground. (In fact, their legs are so strong they can sometimes move at up to 50 miles per hour!) Because lots of other animals think rabbits are tasty, rabbits have to be good at getting away; rabbits on-the-run will often hop in a zig-zag pattern to make their scent harder for their pursuer to follow!

Bunnies also rely on the strength of their back legs for self-defense – they can give a good kick if they’re in the presence of something threatening! They also use their back legs to thump, which is used to send signals like warning or fear to other rabbits. And since they leave so many things up to these back legs, the smaller front legs are usually responsible for things like washing themselves and digging!

Do the hop!

Have a grown-up help you find some videos of bunnies hopping. Study the way the bunny uses his or her back legs to push up into the hop. Make sure you watch how the front legs participate too!

Once you’ve studied up on it, try out your best impression of the bunny hop! Don’t forget to hop carefully so you don’t hurt yourself, and to make sure you do all of your hopping in a place where it’s okay to jump about without breaking anything.

Happy Hopping!