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Maya's and Inka's Mommy:
The rabbit is growling probably because you've startled him in some way. For all that they are supposed to have excellent hearing and vision, they still spook easily...remember they are a Prey animal, so they scare easily due to thousands of years of being hunted by man and animals for food. Being a domesticated pet rabbit doesn't change their instinctive behaviors for self-preservation.
Also remember the rabbits eyes are more towards the side of his head and you should always approach the bunny from either side so he can see you clearly. It could also be that the rabbit is territorial and therefore "protecting" his cage, which is his home and his safe place. Don't get mad at the bunny, he is only protecting himself. Just talk to him in a calm, quiet voice and tell him to behave himself. The more you talk, the more quickly the bunny recognizes you.
You need to read up on rabbits and their behaviors and I suggest you go to a free site: www.rabbit.org and then use the different links to get your information. Good luck.
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well rabbits just like any person or animal need to be well socialized from the time they are very young. the fact that this poor bunny hasn't been well socialized plays a big part in it's behavior. your friend shouldn't just stick her hand in the cage and try to pick the bunny up. rabbits are naturally fidgety animals, this will only make it even more scared. your friend so slowly try to get the bunny adjusted to her and her lifestlye. the cage should be in a place where it is fairly quite, but not a room that nobody ever goes in, if possible put the cage up on something so that rabbit is closer to eyelevel, so that the rabbit can see if someone enters the room, and so it doesnt feel threatened by any other animals. she should spend tiem trying to get to know it a little better maybe by sitting near the cage and soflty talking to it, letting it smell your hand first and giving it soem treats. my rabbit always liked carrots, banana, and apple. after a while the rabbit should hoppfully get used to her and she should spend much time with the bunny as possible : )
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also i was just wondering what kind of rabbit it is. from my experiance with rabbits, i have noticed that mostly dwarf rabbits are the ones that tend to be on the mean side. the breed of the rabbit may also play a big part in it's behavior.