Is there a certain reason why rabbits have such long ears?

Does heat escape through the ears to keep them cool like with elephants? Or are they there so the rabbit can hear predators coming?

Is there a certain reason why rabbits have such long ears?
Both of those are right!


The have a large blood vein that goes through the ear that acts like air conditioning.


Rabbits also use their ears to hear predators. That's why when you see a wild rabbit it's ears look out of proportion and huge.
Reply:Both, actually.
Reply:Both, to some extent. If you compare the ears of a snowshoe hare (short) with those of a cottontail (medium) and those of a jackrabbit (long), you can see the effect of temperature on ear size. This principle is referred to as Allen's Rule. Foxes (Arctic, red or grey, and fennec) are another example.
Reply:The common sense answer would be so that they could pick up sounds furthur away or sounds that were more quiet. The bigger ears would definately help a rabbit to hear better. Rabbits have extremely bad eyesight, so their hearing would have to be extra good.
Reply:The long ears of rabbits are most likely an adaptation for detecting predators.





I hope it helps!