H2Andy:
wow, you think they are brighter than dogs or cats?
how do they demonstrate this?
(ok i'm sorry... last post in the hijack)
If I move one thing in the house... I mean one thing - slide a chair over a foot, change out a throw rug, etc.. they are all over it in a moment. Looking at it from each angle, checking it out, re-memorizing the room lay out - every nuance in and out.
They watch the play of light through the windows and determine where to rest or sleep according to path in, path out, light, etc.
Smarter may not be the best term - but surely more aware of every little thing.
They're never "off". If you can see them, they're already looking at you. They never, ever take their eyes off of you. It used to creep me out... I'm all "relax, dammit...." Like a dog or cat will roll over and just pass out in the middle of the room... never happens with these guys. They are aware, alert and always on. They associate sounds with stimulus - just like Cats and Dogs, too.
Knife on a cutting board 3 rooms away???? Must be Ken cutting apple for us so they all come rolling out... Car pulling up in the afternoon?? Jake is home to spoil us some more.... so they all come rolling up to the front door.
They have an internal clock like dogs and cats... I mean every day at 4:00 PM - its "where's my snack time...?" At 10:00 PM, it starts again... Its too funny when the time changes... they're an hour early or an hour late for a couple of weeks...
They play and play and play... Not that this makes them smart, but it keeps them fit. Rabbits never need to be walked or worked out. They get their own exercise.
Maybe I've just had dumb cats and dogs... but I've never had a pet so aware, so alert, so finely tuned to its surroundings, to changes, to everything as my rabbits are. They learn so quickly, and remember everything.
Being at the bottom of the food chain means you gotta have some game. They are built for speed and agility. They are quiet and care deeply for each other.
They amaze me.
---
Ken
(Bart is my fav... I'm so bad. I love them all, but he's my guy... such a good hearted bunny)