Where to find the homeland of rabbits: mountains, lakes and countries are named after them

Rabbits, which are the symbol of the coming year, are not only valuable fur, they are also a topographic storehouse. Islands, villages, castles, lakes and mountains are named after the furry animal. What is there … A whole “country of rabbits” exists. And this is not Australia at all, which the long-eared once practically “occupied”. They were brought to a distant continent. But the homeland of all the rabbits of the earth is Spain, known to all, which received its name from the surprised exclamation of the Carthaginians “Span, span!”, Landed on the Iberian coast and stumbled upon whole hordes of fluffies.

“Land of Rabbits” Spain

Archaeologists have recently made a remarkable discovery. On the Spanish island of Menorca, the remains of a giant rabbit, named Rex Nuralagus, were discovered, whose age was determined at several thousand years. The beast was about 6 times larger than modern individuals, and weighed about 26 kg. At the same time, as scientists believe, he did not know how to jump: a short and rigid spine did not allow him to do this. But he ate and bred like a real king of rabbits … The Carthaginians, who landed on the shores of ancient Spain, of course, saw not these giants, but animals similar to those of today. But they were struck by their number. Curious long-eared peeped literally from under every bush. “Span! Span! sailors shouted every now and then, and ship dogs rushing in pursuit of easy prey have since become known as spaniels.

Now the bull is the symbol of Spain, and during the time of Emperor Hadrian (117–138), who was born in Spanish Italica, some Roman coins depicted a female figure with a rabbit at her feet. But I must say that the attitude towards rabbits in Spain is not reverent, but quite consumerist. This is the main national dish in resort restaurants – paella with seafood, and in taverns near the highway there is always “grilled rabbit” on the menu. And in general, there are a lot of rabbit dishes in the national cuisine. The most common are “Rabbit in salmorejo sauce” (in white wine with garlic and spices) and “Spanish rabbit stew” (with tomatoes and peppers).

rabbit island – Okunoshima

If Spain is the birthplace of rabbits, where they have been living for millennia, then the Japanese island of Okunoshima in the Inland Sea of ​​Japan has become a haven for thousands of long-eared by the will of man. There are still disputes about where such a large rabbit population appeared on a small island with an area of ​​\u200b\u200bonly 0.7 km. After all, these animals are the only permanent inhabitants there. In the last century, the island was a secret military facility: chemical weapons were being developed on it. But at the end of World War II, all the factories here were destroyed, chemicals were taken out, people were evacuated. So the island would have remained deserted, if after a while it had not become clear that it was densely populated … by rabbits. Someone believes that the rabbits fled from closed biolaboratories, someone talks about schoolchildren who arrived on the island on an excursion in 1971 and brought several furry animals with them to set them free. Ten years later, the island was completely “occupied” by hundreds of rabbits. And has since become a tourist attraction. After all, local pussies are not at all afraid of people. They go out to meet tourist groups in the hope of getting a treat. The island is small. And there are plenty of rabbits. If the animals are not fed, they will die of hunger. The administration of the island makes every effort to feed the local “population”. But now the question of the resettlement of a part of the rabbits has come close. There are too many of them…

Rabbit City – Birzes

Back in 2009, 50 km from Riga, in the town of Birzes, a fabulous town populated by rabbits appeared. On a plot of 2.5 sq. kilometer it was created by the Latvian Ojars Narvils – a professional carpenter. Once, in a time of severe personal loss, he decided to brighten up his loneliness by creating a kind of miniature state for cute lop-eared animals. According to him, rabbits have “very honest eyes that never lie.” As a result, a whole city was built in a year, built up with miniature houses – copies of famous buildings of the 19th century. There are even real electric lights along the neat streets. The population of this rabbit town has already exceeded 700 individuals of 65 different breeds. Birzes has become a favorite place for family walks among residents of Riga and has already reached the international level: rabbit breeders from the Czech Republic help replenish the rabbit population.

rabbit lake – Temagami

In the northeast of the province of Ontario in Canada, there is a lake called Rabbit Lake. This is the largest lake in the whole chain of reservoirs – Kassels, Snake Island and Obashkong. Once upon a time, the most important trade route for the region ran here, for control over which real battles were fought between various Indian tribes. The lake got its name from the surrounding forest, which was once teeming with rabbits. Now some of the plantations have been cut down, while the other, untouched part, has become the Rabbit Lake West nature reserve, where both ancient tree species and rabbits have been preserved.

Rabbit Mountain – Yukon

The volcano on the Wrangel Volcanic Field in the Yukon Territory of Canada got its name from its strange appearance. It looks like it’s full of rabbit holes. In fact, the “leaky” structure of the mountain was formed as a result of the melting of the earth’s crust. And although the volcano itself last erupted many millennia ago, it is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, which includes more than 160 active volcanoes. Getting to the mountain of rabbits is difficult, but possible. The summit is located 30 km from the town of Coidern, from where old mining roads lead to Rabbit Creek near the mountain. If anyone does not know, then the famous stream is the very place where the “gold rush” came from. Since it was at its bottom that the first gold placers were discovered, washed out from the surrounding rocks.

Rabbit Bridge – Fairfax

The ancient Colchester Bridge in the US state of Virginia may well be considered the hero of a thriller. From his story, you can make a blood-chilling horror movie. The bridge, built in 1906 near the Sangster station, would have been a simple overpass, if not for the terrible events that began to unfold around it at the beginning of the last century. The first events, namely the appearance of a strange man in a rabbit costume attacking random passers-by, are associated with the escape of several patients from a nearby psychiatric clinic. Legend has it that a few days after the disappearance of the three psychos, the torn bodies of two of them were found under the bridge. A message was found next to them, which said that the “rabbit man” would kill everyone who climbed the bridge. Since then, the overpass has been called the “Rabbit Man Bridge” or “Rabbit Bridge” for short. The legend was almost forgotten when, in the 1970s, several couples immediately went to the police with a statement that a man in a rabbit costume tried to attack them with an ax near the bridge. The cases initiated on these facts were closed after some time due to lack of evidence, although more than 50 people then turned to the police, claiming that they had seen a rabbit man. Since then, every Halloween there are daredevils who go to the scary bridge at night. They say that not all of them live until the morning. But these are certainly legends … Since 2003, local authorities began to control access to the bridge before Halloween, because there are too many people who want to tickle their nerves.