Most of the pets that people like are plush types, although there are also many people who like amphibians and reptiles, fish and other pets, but they are also very small in comparison, most people still have pets that are hairy, soft and soft, cats and dogs are like this, hamsters, totoro cats, squirrels and other pets are also like this. There is also a stuffed little pet that is also very cute and likable, its name is Bunny Rabbit.
Rabbits belong to the kind of animals with a long history of domestication, so there are many types of pet rabbits, not only many colors, but also developed many strains: short-haired Polish rabbits, long-haired angora rabbits, small pygmy rabbits, large flower rabbits and so on. The above more distinctive baby rabbit, its breed is the Himalayan rabbit.
Himalayan rabbits are distinctive, snow white, but black ears, nose, limbs and tail. Friends who like cats see such a color matching is not somewhat familiar? Yes, this color scheme is similar to Siamese cats, Himalayan cats, Balinese cats, and some muppet cats. Because they all belong to the same genetic mutation, they exhibit this color from the outside, which is called accent color.
The accent color gene is not only found in cats, the Himalayan rabbit is a living example, and even the name of the Himalayan cat breed is derived from the Himalayan rabbit. The cause of accent color is a mutation in tyrosinase in the gene. Tyrosinase controls the production of melanin, and after mutation, it becomes intolerant, that is, it is impossible to successfully synthesize melanin in places with high temperatures, but it becomes active in places with low temperatures.
There are two kinds of sensitivity to temperature, one is the temperature of the external environment and the other is the temperature of the body inside. The manifestation of the body is that the place with low body temperature becomes black, the place with high body temperature is white, and the end of the body is far away from the heart, so the ears, face, limbs and tail will be black. Affected by the external environment, in the summer when the temperature is higher, the black area of the body will become smaller and the color will become lighter, just like the following.
Some Himalayan rabbits will even turn pure white when the temperature is high in the summer, no different from the small white rabbit. In the cold winter, due to the low ambient temperature, the body temperature of the animal itself will also drop, the black area of the body will expand, the color will become darker, and sometimes it may spread to the entire face.
Himalayan rabbits, like other accent color animals, are white at birth because the temperature in the mother's body is balanced and warm, with no difference. After a period of birth, it will appear black because the temperature becomes uneven, and it will be slightly different due to individual differences. Below is a litter of Himalayan babies, each with a slightly different degree of blackening.
This color-changing gene not only shows a very interesting taste in animals, but also allows the shoveler to understand some of their physical health conditions very conveniently and intuitively, although the rabbit can not speak, but the color changes caused by the key color gene will not lie, the shoveler can obtain temperature information according to the observation of their color, and the abnormality can be found and adjusted in time or sent to the doctor for treatment.
Himalayan rabbits have a mild personality, and their domestication history is actually a long time, so their personalities are relatively stable, and there is little stress response if they are raised normally, and they can mingle with the children, cats and dogs in the family, and they can also lead them out for a walk.
When I was a child, the baby Himalayan rabbit personality was not mature and stable, so it was also very lively and naughty, bouncing around, seeing something that I was curious about, I would take the initiative to explore, a small hairball, as cute as a toy!