Agouti or humpback hare: appearance, nutrition, habitat of the animal. Agouti or humpback hare Humpback rabbit

We know very little about the time of the appearance of the first domestic animals; there is practically no confirmed information about them. There are no legends or chronicles preserved about that period of human life when we were able to tame wild animals. It is believed that already in the Stone Age, ancient people had domesticated animals, the ancestors of today's domestic animals. The time when man got modern domestic animals remains unknown to science, and the formation of today's domestic animals as a species is also unknown.

Scientists assume that every domestic animal has its wild ancestor. Proof of this is archaeological excavations carried out on the ruins of ancient human settlements. During excavations, bones belonging to domestic animals were found ancient world. So it can be argued that even in such a distant era of human life, domesticated animals accompanied us. Today there are species of domestic animals that are no longer found in the wild.

Many of today's wild animals are feral animals caused by humans. For example, let's take America or Australia as clear evidence of this theory. Almost all domestic animals were brought to these continents from Europe. These animals have found fertile soil for life and development. An example of this is hares or rabbits in Australia. Due to the fact that there are no natural predators dangerous for this species on this continent, they multiplied in huge numbers and went wild. Since all rabbits were domesticated and brought by Europeans for their needs. Therefore, we can say with confidence that more than half of wild domesticated animals are former domestic animals. For example, wild city cats and dogs.

Be that as it may, the question of the origin of domestic animals should be considered open. As for our pets. The first confirmations we find in chronicles and legends are a dog and a cat. In Egypt, the cat was a sacred animal, and dogs were actively used by humanity in the ancient era. There is plenty of evidence for this. In Europe, the cat appeared in its mass after crusade, but firmly and quickly occupied a niche pet and a mouse hunter. Before them, Europeans used various animals to catch mice, such as weasels or genets.

Domestic animals are divided into two unequal species.

The first type of domestic animal is farm animals that directly benefit humans. Meat, wool, fur and many other useful things, goods, and are also used by us for food. But they do not live directly in the same room with a person.

The second type is pet animals (companions), which we see every day in our houses or apartments. They brighten up our leisure time, entertain us and give us pleasure. And most of them are almost useless for practical purposes. modern world, these are for example hamsters, guinea pigs, parrots and many others.

Animals of the same species can often belong to both species, both farm animals and pets. A prime example of this is that rabbits and ferrets are kept at home as pets, but are also bred for their meat and fur. Also, some waste from pets can be used, for example, the hair of cats and dogs for knitting various items or as insulation. For example, belts made of dog hair.

Many doctors note the positive impact of pets on human health and well-being. We can notice that many families who keep animals at home note that these animals create comfort, calm, and relieve stress.

This encyclopedia was created by us to help pet lovers. We hope that our encyclopedia will help you in choosing a pet and caring for it.

If you have interesting observations of your pet’s behavior or would like to share information about some pet. Or you have a nursery, veterinary clinic, or animal hotel near your home, write to us about them at , so that we can add this information to the database on our website.

When asked what the humpbacked hare is called, many people throw up their hands in bewilderment and think: “What kind of animal is this?” Before your eyes, your imagination immediately draws a creature with the ears of a hare and the hump of Quasimodo. In fact, everything is completely different. The humpback hare comes from the tropics. In appearance, this is a very cute animal, very similar to a guinea pig, only with long legs, it is called “agouti”. There are about 11 species of agouti in the world, and in different places of its habitat the rodent is called different names. For example, in some areas of the Amazon, local residents came up with the name "cutia".

Agouti (humpback hare): description

The unusual hare belongs to the order of rodents. As mentioned earlier, he looks a lot like a large guinea pig. He got his paws from the hare - they are relatively long. The agouti's back is rounded: it gives the impression that the animal is humpbacked, which is why it got the name - humpbacked hare. The head is elongated, the ears are small - they resemble a short-eared hare. The tail is almost invisible, its size is so small. There are only three toes on the hind limbs. Experts in the animal world noticed similarities in the rodent with the distant ancestors of the modern horse. In a word, agouti cannot be confused with any other rodent.

The body length of the animal is about 60 cm, weight can reach up to 4 kg. The hare's fur is thick and coarse with a beautiful shiny sheen. On the belly of all species it is equally light, and on the back it can vary from black to bright golden with an orange tint.

Habitat

The second name of agouti is southern American hare; he received it because he lives in Central and South America. Rodents live in tropical jungles and prefer to settle near bodies of water. One of the species lives in mangroves. IN lately more and more often people tame them and they become pets, as in at a young age willing to make contact.

Lifestyle

In the wild, agoutis live in small groups, although individual pairs are also found. These rodents are active during the daytime, and in the light of the sun they get their food, build housing and arrange a personal life. At night, they hide in burrows, which they build in the roots or hollows of tropical trees.

By nature, the humpbacked hare is very cowardly and is easily excitable for any reason. With close and long-term contact with people, the animals cease to be afraid and become almost tame. Agoutis move gracefully and quickly. If you observe their movement, you will notice that their running is similar to a trot or gallop with a series of jumps. Rodents are not afraid of water and are excellent swimmers.

Hares eat very funny. Having obtained food, they sit on their hind legs, holding the food in their front legs and, carefully bringing the food to their mouth, eat. The agouti's diet consists mainly of nuts, seeds, fruits, flowers, leaves, roots and tree bark. Sometimes rodents cause significant damage to farmers by visiting banana plantations and sugar cane plantations.

Reproduction

One can only envy the marital fidelity of humpback hares! Having created a pair, the animals remain true friend friend until death. The male is responsible for the safety of his female and offspring - he does not miss the opportunity to demonstrate his strength and fearlessness to the family, which is why fights sometimes arise between males. Fights occur especially often when young agouti seek the favor of a female in order to start a family.

The female agouti gives birth twice a year, bearing the babies for 40 days. There can be from two to four cubs in one litter. They are born completely independent. After spending just a little time near their parents, the animals begin to organize their own lives.

Humpbacked Hare: Interesting Facts

Golden hares in natural environment Unfortunately, they cannot live long: they have too many enemies and dangers. In captivity, agoutis can live up to 20 years. Many interesting facts are known about these funny rodents:

Agouti can jump 6 m long and 2 m high from a standing position;
. Few animals are able to crack Brazil nuts, which are extremely hard. The humpback hare does this with ease thanks to its extremely sharp teeth And strong jaws;
. Agoutis have excellent hearing and a keen sense of smell. In combination with running fast they represent a difficult target for their main natural enemies - Brazilian dogs and big cats;
. Very poor eyesight is the only drawback of golden hares;
. Agoutis are considered excellent swimmers, but people have not yet been able to find out whether they are capable of diving. For some unknown reason, they were never seen diving underwater.

The hare is a small mammal that has recently belonged to the order Lagomorpha and the family Lagoraceae. Before this, they were considered a type of rodent. The international scientific name of the genus of hares is Lepus (lat.). Hares only at first glance seem to be harmless animals. Thanks to powerful legs and long claws, they are able to withstand danger. Since ancient times, this furry animal has been a desirable prey for hunters because of its dietary meat and rare fur.

Hare - characteristics, description, and appearance of the animal

The hare has a slender, slightly elongated body, up to 68-70 cm long.

The hare has long ears-locators, 9 - 15 cm long. The hearing of this animal is more developed than other senses. Sound can be picked up by one ear independently of the other, which facilitates the animal's auditory orientation.

Distinctive feature The hare has a long foot of hind legs, which gives it the ability to run away from predators (fox, owl, wolf) at a speed of 80 km/h, abruptly change the direction of movement and jump to the side. A small animal can easily climb to the top of a hill, but when it comes down from it, it rolls head over heels down.

The hare's sweat glands are located on the soles of its feet. It is almost impossible for a predator to smell a lying animal.

Hares molt in spring and autumn.

The stomach of lagomorphs is divided into two sectors. One section is for fermenting food, the other is for digesting it.

How much does an adult hare weigh?

The average weight of the animal is 5-7 kg. The hare's tail is small, raised upward.

Is a hare a rodent or not?

Lagomorphs differ in blood composition from rodents.

Another distinctive feature is the structure of the teeth. Hares have incisors in the upper jaw, 2 pairs on each side. The inert palate is a bridge connecting the right and left molars. In rodents it is in the form of a complete bone platform. There are no gaps between the protruding parts of the upper and lower teeth, which allows in the best possible way process food.

Agouti, the so-called humpbacked or golden hare, is considered a rodent.

The color of a hare is directly related to the season. In summer, its coat can be brown, reddish-gray, or brown. The color of the animal is uneven, since the fluff under the fur has a dark shade. There are also small inclusions. The fur on a hare's belly is always white. In winter, the fur of the fluffy animal becomes lighter, but only the white hare’s is impeccably white. The tips of the ears of lagomorphs are black all year round.

How many years does a wild hare live?

Males live on average 5 years, females up to 9 years. A tamed hare lives much longer.

The type of eared animal has an impact on the number of years lived. So, a white hare can live up to 17 years. Such cases are unique. Browns live much shorter lives, usually 5 years. Very rarely live to 14 years.

The American hare lives on average 7-8 years. The black-tailed hare lives up to a maximum of 6 years, but often representatives of this species die much earlier from disease or predators. The lifespan of an agouti (or, as they are also called, a golden or humpback hare) can reach 20 years.

Seal - sea hare lives approximately 30 years, males often live only up to 25 years.

Types of hares

The genus of hares consists of a dozen subgenera, each of which is divided into species.

White hare (Latin: Lepus timidus). Body length is about 44-65 cm; weight 1.6-4.5 kg. A distinctive feature of this white hare is its ability to masterfully camouflage itself. A hare has a white fur color in winter; in summer it acquires fur gray. White hare– the goal of many sport hunters. Habitat: Russia (including the Arctic); China, Mongolia, northern Europe, South America.

Brown hare (Latin: Lepus europaeus). The largest representative of lagomorphs, has brown fur. The body length is 68 cm, weight up to seven kilograms. The fur shines and curls a little. The tail and ears are larger than those of the hare. The hare, one might say, is a steppe hare. Habitat: Europe, Kazakhstan, Türkiye, Transcaucasia, Arabian Peninsula, North Africa.

Antelope hare (Latin: Lepus alleni). The body length is 45-60 cm. A distinctive feature of the antelope hare is its impressively sized ears, up to 20 cm. They help normalize the animal’s heat exchange in hot climates. Lives this type in northwestern Mexico and American Arizona.

The Chinese hare (Latin: Lepus sinensis) is distinguished by its miniature size. The body length is 30-45 cm, weight is within 2 kg. Fur color varies from chestnut to red. The coat is short and harsh in texture. Habitat: China, Taiwan and Vietnam; inhabits mainly elevated areas.

Tolai hare (Latin: Lepus tolai). Outwardly it has similar features to the hare, only noticeably more compact in size. Body length 39-55 cm, weight 1.5-2.8 kg. The fat hare's limbs and ears are larger than those of the brown hare. Lives in Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Northeast China and Mongolia. Almost everywhere in Russia.

Yellowish hare (Latin: Lepus flavigularis). Body length 60 cm, weight 4 kg. The ears and legs are large. The yellowish hare has an original ear color. From their base to the back of the head there are two black stripes, the sides white. Hare's habitat: the coast of the Gulf of Tehuantepec in Mexico. Terrain: Coastal grassy dunes and open grasslands. Stays awake in the dark.

Broom hare (Latin: Lepus castroviejoi). The body length of a hare of this species is 45-65 cm, weight is from 2.6 to 3.2 kg. The color of the hare is black-brown, with small white patches. It lives in Spain and is listed in the Red Book of this country. The species is widespread in areas with little vegetation. In many characteristics, the broom hare is similar to the brown hare.

Black-tailed (California) hare (Latin: Lepus californicus). Body length 47-63 cm, weight 1.5-3 kg. Distinctive feature The species are long ears and massive hind legs. The fur on the upper part of the body is gray-brown in color. The back of the animal is decorated with a black stripe. The population of these lagomorphs is most impressive in the western United States and Mexico. The black-tailed hare is a loner.

Manchurian hare (Latin: Lepus mandshuricus). The body size of the Manchurian hare is 40-55 cm, weight 1.3-2.5 kg. The legs, tail and ears are relatively short, which gives Manchurian hare similar features to the wild (European) rabbit. The fur is hard and bristly. The color of the coat is brown, uneven, with gray patches. Along the back there is a stripe of a darker color long hair. Found in the south Far East Russia, in the Chinese region of Manchuria and in northern Korea. We can say that this is a forest hare that prefers deciduous forests with dense bushes.

Tibetan curly hare (Latin: Lepus oiostolus). The body length is 40-58 cm. Weight is 2.3 kg. The fur of this animal has a yellowish tint, and the fur on the back is slightly wavy. Habitat: China, India, Nepal. Terrain: highlands of Tibet.

Agouti (Latin: Dasyprocta) or South American golden hare (humpback hare). This animal belongs to the order of rodents and is a relative of guinea pigs. Agouti is also popularly called the golden (or golden) hare. This animal has a body length of 50 cm and weighs about 4 kg. It received its second name due to its golden color. The humpback hare is widespread in Central and South America, from Mexico to Brazil. Agoutis are very good swimmers.

The hare, unlike the rabbit, which is a burrowing animal, needs space and a lot of movement. If desired, hares can be bred at home, following certain rules.

Features of keeping a hare at home:

The hare needs a spacious cage or enclosure.
Walking around the apartment. Until the age of 1 month under close supervision, from 1 month free walking.
The hare must be vaccinated and dewormed.
The little bunny should be immediately taught to go to the toilet; diapers or dry grass should be used as litter for the tray. Granular litter cannot be used.

Hares are very sociable animals, living in an apartment, they require constant interaction with humans, games, and attention. But these animals should not be held in your arms all the time; they do not like hugs.

Features of feeding a hare at home:

Hare's milk is very fatty in composition, up to 20%, so feed the hare cow's milk or human infant formula is not allowed. It is recommended to give bitch and cat milk substitutes every 3-4 hours.
You cannot sweeten milk for rabbits.
From the age of two weeks, in addition to milk, you need to give green grass, leaves and twigs.
From one and a half months, it is necessary to completely switch the teenager to solid food: green grass, twigs, berries, fruits.
From two months of age, add grain-free ready-made food to the hare’s diet.

You cannot release an already tamed hare into the wild; it will not survive.

Giant Rabbit (Flanders)

One of the most amazing representatives Lagomorpha is Flanders, or Belgian giant. This is an industrial breed of rabbits. The body length of adult individuals is 67 cm, weight 7-10 kg. The coat is thick, the color is hare-gray, yellow-gray, dark gray, iron-gray. The breed began to be bred in 1952.

Sea hare seal

The bearded seal, or bearded seal, belongs to the family of true seals. The body length is 2.5 meters. In winter, the weight is 360 kg. The sea hare seal lives in the shallow waters of the Northern Arctic Ocean and adjacent waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Representatives from seal skin northern peoples make household items. The pregnancy of a female sea hare lasts a year, one calf is born, with a body length of 120 cm. The ability to reproduce appears at the age of five years.

Hares are land animals; they cannot swim or climb trees. Some species love space, spaces with little vegetation. Other types belong to forest hares, inhabit places with dense thickets. Hares can live separately; some species live in colonies and build burrows. The white hare lives in the tundra, rarely in forest and forest-steppe zone. The humpbacked hare rodent is a resident of the tropics and savannah. Lagomorphs inhabit the entire globe. Recently they were brought to Australia, South America, Madagascar, and Southeast Asia.

What does a hare eat?

Hares belong to mammals and eat food of plant origin.

Brown hare food:

White hare diet:

The humpback hare feeds on fruits and other parts of plants.

The bearded seal eats benthic invertebrates and bottom fish: flounder, cod, and goby.

In nature, hares can form pairs, but an isolated lifestyle is not uncommon. A female hare can give birth three times a year, with 5-10 hares in each litter. The gestation period is 50 days. Hares have high fertility. Cubs are born with fur and can see and walk. In the first seven days of life, rabbits need milk. But by the third week they are completely adapted to plant foods. Puberty occurs by the age of 7-11 months.

Hares communicate by making “drum rolls” with their paws.
By touching plants with their noses, hares inform their relatives of their arrival.
Despite the fact that hares are vegetarians, they can eat poultry meat, such as partridge, tearing apart game with their paws.
The hare's hind legs are asymmetrical from birth.
In hares, the phenomenon of double pregnancy sometimes occurs, when re-fertilization can occur even before the birth of the offspring.

The humpback hare (another name is Agouti) is a species of mammal that is part of the order of rodents. The animal is “closely related” to the guinea pig, and is very similar to it. The only difference is that the humpback hare has longer forelimbs.

Description of Agouti

Appearance

The humpback hare has a unique appearance, so it is almost impossible to confuse it with other species of animals. It is to some extent similar to short-eared hares, and also to the distant ancestors of the ordinary horse. True, the latter have long disappeared.

This is interesting! The body length of a humpback hare is on average just over half a meter, and its weight is approximately 4 kg. The animal’s tail is very small (1–3 cm), so it may not be noticed at first glance.

The head is massive and, like guinea pig, elongated. The forehead bones are wide and longer than the temporal bones. The pink skin around the eyes and at the base of the bare ears is devoid of hair. Adult animals have a small sagittal ridge. The head is “crowned” with small ears, which Agouti inherited from short-eared hares.

The hind and forelimbs of the humpback hare have bare soles and are equipped with different quantities fingers - four on the front and three on the back. Moreover, the third toe of the hind legs is the longest, and the second is much longer than the fourth. The claws on the hind toes are shaped like hooves.

The back of the golden hare is rounded, which is where the name “humpback hare” comes from. The fur of this animal is very beautiful - thick, with a shiny tint, and in the back of the body it is thicker and longer. The color of the back can have many shades - from black to golden (hence the name “golden hare”), it depends on the type of Agouti. And on the tummy the fur is light – white or yellowish.

Lifestyle, character

In conditions wild world Agoutis in most cases live in small groups, but there are also separate living pairs.

Humpback hares are diurnal animals. At sunlight The animals get food, build housing, and also arrange their personal lives. But sometimes Agoutis do not bother building their own housing, hiding at night in hollows, ready-made holes under the roots of trees, or looking for and occupying other people’s holes.

Agoutis are shy and fast animals. The ability to cover distances in long jumps helps them escape from the teeth of a predator. Humpback hares cannot dive, but they are excellent swimmers, which is why they choose habitats near bodies of water.

Despite their timidity and increased excitability, humpback hares are successfully tamed and feel great in the zoo. Cubs willingly come into contact with humans, but an adult is somewhat more difficult to tame.

Lifespan

The lifespan of the Agouti humpback hare in captivity is between 13 and 20 years.. In conditions wildlife because of large quantity Hares die faster than predatory animals.

In addition, humpback hares are a desirable target for hunters. This is explained by good taste qualities meat, as well as beautiful skin. For these same features, local Indians have long tamed Agouti for fattening and further consumption. In addition, Agoutis cause considerable damage to agricultural land, so these hares often become victims of local farmers.

Types of Agouti hares

Nowadays, eleven types of Agouti are known:

azars;
Khoiban;
Orinoco;
black;
Roatan;
Mexican;
Central American;
black-backed;
crested;
Brazilian.
Agouti Kalinovsky.

Range, habitats

Agouti humpback hares can be found in South American countries: Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, Peru. Their main habitat is forests, ponds overgrown with grass, damp shaded areas, and savannas. Agouti also live on dry hills, in thickets of bushes. One species of humpback hare lives in mangrove forests.

Feeding characteristics, Agouti production

Humpback hares are herbivores. They feed on leaves, as well as flowers of plants, tree bark, roots of herbs and shrubs, nuts, seeds and fruits.

This is interesting! Thanks to their strong and sharp teeth, Agouti can easily cope with even hard Brazilian nuts, which not every animal can do.

It is very interesting to watch agoutiformes eat. They sit on their hind legs, grab food with the tenacious fingers of their forelimbs and put it into their mouth. Often, hares of this species cause significant damage to farmers, wandering onto their lands to feast on bananas and sweet reed stalks.

Reproduction of the humpback hare

Agouti's marital fidelity can sometimes be envied. Having formed a pair, the animals remain faithful to each other until the end of their lives.. The male is responsible for the safety of the female and her offspring, so he doesn’t mind demonstrating once again own strength and courage in fighting other males. Such battles occur especially often during the period of choosing a life partner.

The female humpback hare gives birth to litters twice a year. The gestation period is a little more than a month, after which no more than four developed and sighted rabbits are born. After living for some time near their parents, the grown and strengthened animals create their own families.

Series A genes cannot change the shade or color of a rabbit's coat, but they do affect the arrangement of pigments in the coat - the color pattern.

Series A genes appear in three forms:

« A‒ Agouti, wild colors;
« at‒ Tan, color with tan;
« a» ‒ Solid shape, pure uniform color.

A rabbit can display only one of the genes of this series in color; let’s take a closer look at each of the options.

Agouti Scheme - "A"

The color form of a wild rabbit is a magnificent example of the interaction of various color pigments in their natural original form. This coloring can be distinguished by the presence of dark hairs distributed among the moderately light coat - the so-called “ticking”.

French Ram, agouti color

By blowing on the fur, you can see dark color at the base of the coat, while the hair is colored unevenly along its length, forming clear circles - dark, light, dark.

Note that rabbits with the Agouti gene and recessive “ee” extension genes do not have a dark shade (orange, fawn) at the base of the hairs.

The Agouti pattern involves creamy white markings on the belly, jaw line, inner legs and underside of the tail. This variation is also characterized by a dark edging of the ears, their light inner surface, white circles around the nostrils and expressive “glasses”.

The Agouti gene is the dominant of all three genes in this series.

A rabbit can be a carrier of both the dominant gene “A” and one of the other two - “at” or “a”, without showing it in any way outwardly. It is possible to find out whether one of these genes is hidden in the genotype of an individual only by test crossing.

Examples of Agouti colors from left to right: chestnut, opal, chinchilla.

Scheme Tang - “at”

The lowest in the hierarchy of this series is the “at” or Tan gene. Its effect is noticeable by the presence of a base color - black, blue, chocolate or purple - and lighter markings of the Agouti scheme discussed above.

As in the previous case, the belly, jaw line, inner surface of the ears and legs, bottom of the tail, circles around the eyes and nostrils are much lighter than the main color, forming a bright contrast.

The difference between the Tang and Agouti schemes is the absence of ticking and “rings” on the wool fibers. The main color is rich, uniform and dyes the hair deep to the skin.

Most vivid examples- otter, silver marten, sable marten, tortoiseshell otter, and, of course, the wonderful breed of the same name Tang.

The “at” gene cannot hide the Agouti gene, which is dominant in this trinity, but suppresses the weaker “a” gene, which we will consider next.

Examples of Tan color scheme on the left side: otter, silver marten, tan.

Solid color scheme – “a”.

The third gene in this series, “a,” is recessive and is completely suppressed by the first two. Its presence will manifest itself externally only if both genes in the individual’s genotype are recessive, that is, with the “aa” genotype.

Solid color means the presence of one color throughout the body - black, chocolate, blue or lilac.

However, there are very beautiful heterogeneous variations that arise on the basis of this genotype, for example, Siamese sable, pointed sable, smoky pearl.

The origin of shading in rabbits of these colors is associated with the action of other genes that do not belong to the “A” series, in similar forms There is no clear pattern of Agouti or Tan colors.

From left to right: chocolate, smoky pearl, pointed sable.

What happens if you cross rabbits carrying different variations of the A series genes?

Knowing the genotype of the parents, and sometimes the phenotype is enough ( external signs), you can predict what kind of offspring will be obtained.

In the same way, looking at the offspring, with a high degree of probability, you can determine the genotype of the parents and the recessive hidden genes that they carry.

Since it doesn't matter which parent carries which set, there are 21 possible gene combinations, with fifteen of them involving the dominant "A" gene. If there are no Agouti gene carriers among the breeding rabbits, the number of variations is halved.

If we exclude the Tang gene, there are no options left for variability - when mating monochromatic rabbits carrying the recessive “aa” genes, only monochromatic rabbits will be obtained in 100% of cases.

Genotype of rabbits depending on the genotype of the parents (series “A”)

	A-A Agouti	A-at Agouti carrying Tang	A-a Agouti carrying Solid	at-at Tang	at-a Tan carrying Solid	Plain
A-A Agouti	A-A (100%)
A-at Agouti carrying Tang	A-A (50%) A-at (50%)	A-A (25%) A-at (50%) at-at (25%)
Agouti carrying Solid	A-A (50%) A-a (50%)	A-A (25%) A-at (25%) A-a (25%) at-a (25%)	A-A (25%) A-a (50%) a-a (25%)
at-at Tang	A-at (100%)	A-at (50%) at-at (50%)	A-at (50%) at-a (50%)	at-at (100%)
at-a Tan carrying Solid	A-at (50%) A-a (50%)	A-at (25%) A-a (25%) at-at (25%) at-a (25%)	A-at (25%) A-a (25%) at-a (25%) a-a (25%)	at-at (50%) at-a (50%)	at-at (25%) at-a (50%) a-a (25%)
a-a Plain	A-a (100%)	A-a (50%) at-a (50%)	A-a (50%) a-a (50%)	at-a (100%)	at-a (50%) a-a (50%)	a-a (100%)

The proposed table contains average data and in practice the percentage may vary (except for cases when the result is 100%).

Let's look at practical examples.

Example 1

Let's say you decide to breed a chestnut-colored rabbit that carries the "a" gene ("A-a") with an otter-colored rabbit that also carries the "a" gene ("at-a").

Let's follow the table: we will find the column corresponding to the genotype of the male - “A-a” (Agouti, carrying Solid), and the row corresponding to the genotype of the female - “at-a” (Tan, carrying Solid).

At the intersection of the row and column, we get the options for the genotypes of the offspring: 50% will have agouti color, while in half of the cases the rabbits will carry the “a” gene, and in half – “at”; 25% of the rabbits will be solid color, and another 25% will have an otter or marten color (depending on the influence of the “C” gene).

Example 2

If we happen to have an otter-colored rabbit carrying the “a” gene and a female of the same color, also carrying the “a” gene, we will get two color options.

Of the four rabbits obtained, three will have an otter color (two will carry the solid color gene “a”, and one will be a pure otter), the fourth rabbit will have a solid color. Trace the result across the table at the intersection of the sixth row and sixth column.

Let us note once again that an individual in which a solid color has been identified carries the recessive gene “a” and cannot carry other genes of the A series - neither “A” nor “at”, since they will immediately appear externally in the form of an Agouti pattern or Tan.

Therefore, by crossing rabbits of blue, black, tortoiseshell, chocolate or lilac colors, you can only get single-color variations without hidden genes in the genotype. In other words, a pure black rabbit cannot carry the otter color gene.

The table below shows some common colors and how they vary under the influence of the A series genes.

Manifestation of colors depending on the influence of series A genes

Agouti	Tan/Otter/Marten	Plain
Orange	Orange or Tortoiseshell otter	Black tortoiseshell
	Deer Otter	Blue tortoiseshell
Chestnut	Black otter	Black
Opal	Blue otter	Blue
Chinchilla	Black silver marten	Plain chinchilla
Lynx	Lilac otter	Lilac

Test cross

It can be difficult to distinguish between closely related colors, such as orange (“A”), tortoiseshell otter (“at”), and solid tortoiseshell (“aa”). If you know for sure that both parents have recessive genes (“aa”) in their genotype, then there is no doubt that you have a slightly brighter tortoiseshell color than usual.

If it is impossible to determine the genotype of the parents and they may be carriers of Agouti Li Tan genes, a test cross is carried out.

For this purpose, it is best to choose a pure black rabbit with the genotype “aa BB CC DD EE”. If the cross produces chestnut rabbits, then the individual is questionable - orange, but if the offspring is a black otter color, then the individual is questionable - a tortoiseshell otter.

Pictured from left to right: orange, tortoiseshell otter, tortoiseshell.

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