The cognitive functions of rabbits are much less studied than those of dogs or cats, but their growing popularity as pets means that we are increasingly asking questions about their level of intelligence or its ability to store and retrieve memories. In relation to the latter, it has been shown that rabbits have memory, can recognize people and places and are capable of learning tricks through positive reinforcement training techniques.
How is the memory of rabbits?
Today, rabbits are considered as a member of the family in millions of homes around the world and it is not surprising, because their tenderness, their intelligence and their cheerful and sociable temperament They make a wonderful company. But this has not always been the case, in fact, the domestication of these cute animals is a relatively recent process if we compare it with that of other species, such as dogs or cats, which have been by our side for thousands of years. As a consequence, the current domestic rabbits have been increasingly different from their wild relatives in terms of behavior, morphology and physiology, with the aim of successfully adapting to coexistence with humans.
An extensive scientific study conducted in 2020 [1] found that one of the largest cognitive differences between domestic and wild rabbits was It is located in the hippocampus, the brain structure related to memory and learning. In this sense, domesticated rabbits seem to have a smaller and less active hippocampus than their wild counterparts, probably because, by adapting to a safer lifestyle and free of danger, they do not have the need to process so much information related to survival.
Still, Domestic rabbits have a good associative memory, which allows them to remember events, places or individuals with whom they have interacted in the past. If said interaction has been successful, has been of benefit to the animal or has generated pleasant emotions, the rabbit will store a positive memory of it in its memory and will emit approach behaviors to these stimuli. If, on the other hand, you have had negative experiences in some situations, you will learn to avoid or run away from them.
What can rabbits remember?
Now that we know that rabbits have good memories, what exactly can they learn and remember? Thanks to their associative memory, domestic rabbits are perfectly capable of learning tricks and basic skills through positive training. As with dogs, if we repeatedly and consistently reinforce a specific behavior, the rabbit will tend to repeat that behavior in order to obtain the desired reinforcer (for example, a piece of its favorite food). Thus, we can teach a rabbit to traverse circuits, jump over obstacles, climb platforms, respond to calls, pick up objects, stand on two legs, and a long list of behaviors, as long as we are patient and use the appropriate techniques. We should never punish a rabbit if it does not understand a command or does not do what we ask, it is a very sensitive animal and we could seriously harm our relationship with it.
Another recommendation when training our rabbit is to wait, at least, until it is six or seven months old to start associating behaviors with reinforcers. This is because younger rabbits have a much lower attention span, which means they get bored very quickly and are more easily distracted than adults, and this can lead to some frustration during training sessions. For more details, don't miss our article where we teach you How to train a rabbit.
In the same way that they can memorize commands, rabbits learn the daily routines of their guardians and adapt to them, creating habits that help them feel more secure and confident with their surroundings. Thanks to this establishment of routines, they also easily get used to performing certain behaviors that, in themselves, are not natural in their species, such as using artificial litter boxes or soakers to relieve themselves.
Finally, of course, they are able to remember their human and animal companions, so they won't hesitate to seek out your company and affection as long as the relationship is positive. Likewise, they remember those people and other animals that they have associated with negative stimuli.
Before trying to teach a rabbit to perform tricks and skills, it is essential to gain their trust, so we recommend you watch this video:
Can rabbits lose their memory?
The memories that are created associatively can become very strong and lasting, especially when intense emotion has been involved. For example, if the rabbit has felt a lot of fear when considering that its life was in danger in a specific place or in the face of a specific stimulus (such as the presence of a cat or another predator), in the future it will remember this situation well and will anticipate her to avoid her or prepare in case she had to flee. In the same way, if you establish a positive bond with your tutor, they will be happy to see you even if you have been apart for a while.
In all animals, including humans, the sense organs play an essential role in memory. In the specific case of rabbits, the sense of smell is especially relevant for the establishment of associations and, therefore, for the recovery of memories. They can recognize certain individuals or objects with which they have interacted in the past through the odors they give off, so any rabbit with a he alth problem that causes damage at the olfactory level may have also problems in recovering certain memories However, this would not mean a loss of memory per se, since for this to occur the injury would have to occur in the hippocampus as a result of, for example, a trauma or a process of dementia due to advanced age.
In case our rabbit has stopped responding to certain commands that it knew before, it is most likely that a long time has passed without its behaviors having been reinforced or that it is in a stressful environment where it does not is able to pay enough attention to us. Discover the Signs of stress in rabbits to treat it as soon as possible.
