Why Do Rabbits Move Their Ears?

Rabbits are furry mammals found in the wild or domesticated as house pets. They are most often characterized in pictures and descriptions by their large external ears. A rabbit's ears play a significant role in how the rest of its body functions. It moves its ears to hear better, help regulate its body temperature, maintain its balance and display emotion.

  1. Hearing

    • Rabbits typically have two large long ears growing from the top part of their heads, shaped like sailboats or narrow satellite dishes. Whether a rabbit has ears which stick up or hang down, the ears' shape allows for exceptional hearing, channeling sound into the ear canals. According to sound diagnostician Jana Rickel, a rabbit with ears sticking up can rotate its ears 270 degrees around, or move each ear independently to listen in different directions.

    Body Temperature

    • Veterinarian Anna Meredith says a rabbit's ears help manage its body temperature. Rabbits have no sweat glands to cool them down in hot weather. Blood from the inner body circulates overheated blood through the vessels in the thin flesh of a rabbit's ears, cooling it a bit before it flows back into the rabbit's body. The ears' blood vessels also shrink against cold, to protect a rabbit from losing body heat.

    Balance

    • Healthy rabbits hear clearly and also move their ears to adjust body balance. According to Pet Informed, a common ailment for rabbits is ear infection, caused when mites infest the inner parts of the ears. Infected rabbits suffer hearing loss due to the buildup of bacteria. The crusty buildup weighs down their ears as well. Balance depends largely on hearing and weight distribution, so ear infections impair a rabbit's balance.

    Emotions

    • Rabbits display particular states of emotion or personality when they move their ears. Amy Shapiro of the National House Rabbit Society lists the emotions typical of certain ear positions: Ears pushed forward indicate curiosity, ears pulled back may indicate relaxation or mistrust--Shapiro recommends leaving a rabbit to itself if its ears are back--and each ear cocked at a different angle indicate a growing interest in something, or nervousness.

    Considerations

    • Rabbit experts say never to pick up a rabbit by its ears. Rabbits have meaty bodies but delicate bone structures, which means if they are picked up incorrectly they may kick or thrash in panic or mistrust, and the sudden irregular movement could cause damage to their backs, necks or legs. Once a rabbit is lifted correctly, however, it may be calmed further if its ears are gently massaged or stroked.