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 Despitefinding them in almost every corner of the UK, often in very largenumbers, rabbits aren't native to Great Britain and were actuallyintroduced about 900 years ago from France. Rabbits were intially bred for their fur and because they are a convenient size for a good meal, with no leftovers. Theterm 'Warren', which is now used to describe rabbit colonies andburrows, actually comes from the name that was given to the walledenclosures that were built by Britons hundreds of years ago to keeptheir rabbits in. A 'Warrener' is someone who is employed to look after groups of rabbits, providing food and protection from predators. Rabbitsare usally found on sandy heaths and clifftops, where the soiltends to be easy to dig and yet firm enough to supportnetworks of underground burrows. During the 1950s rabbitpopulation in the UK were so large that the Myxoma virus wasdeliberately introduced, killing 99% of all rabbits in GreatBritain within just two years. Rabbits are the only mammals in the world that can see behind themselves without having to rotate their head
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