One rabbit reported in the Daily Mail even thumped at a burglar, and possibly scared him off! Many rabbits will thump in the car and at the vets, especially if they don’t have their bonded partner with them to help them cope with the stress. O wners have reported them thumping at everything from the smell of peanut butter to strangers in the house. Rabbits can thump at anything that scares them. What sort of things cause a rabbit to thump?
Some rabbits will make one thump, others will do several in a row. They then use one or both feet to hit the ground hard, just like ‘Thumper’ in Bambi. They tend to arch their backs a little and freeze, and will look very alert. Rabbits have a special posture that they use to create a thumping noise. It can be a warning to back off and not pick them up, or it may be a demand to cuddle. They’re using the thumps to communicate that they want you to stop doing something, or start doing something. Some rabbits will thump for reasons other than fear, including annoyance. This has the advantage that the noise will likely be easy to hear underground in their warrens, and the vibrations are likely to be felt, too. E xcept rabbits don’t tend to vocalise, and instead use the noise of their feet. In fact, it’s a bit like a dog’s bark, a meerkat’s warning screech or a parent’s worried yell. It’s probably a way of warning other rabbits that there’s something scary nearby. Lots of things can cause a rabbit to ‘thump’, but it’s usually a response to a frightening situation.
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