Carcass consumption by domestic rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

Conventional concepts about trophic niches in mammals are often linked to adaptations of digestive physiology, and so carnivory by herbivorous animals is often considered a physiological impossibility. However, numerous reports on events of carnivory in herbivores without apparent harmful consequences exist. Here, we report the habitual daily consumption of animal prey (day-old chicks and rodents) by two rabbits kept in a mixed-species exhibit with raptors over a period of 9 months. While not requiring a change of the classification of rabbits as strict herbivores, anecdotes like this one suggest that some trophic niches might be better explained by other factors than digestive physiology, such as ecological opportunity, behavioural adaptations and biomechanical limits to ingestion.