Giant Rabbits Make Excellent Pets, Just Sayin'

Giant Rabbits Make Excellent Pets

They're cuddly, they're fluffy, and they're 4 feet tall. No, it's not the plot of a new Michael Bay children's film -- although add some exploding robots and, who knows -- these rabbits are for real.

Meet Darius and his son, Jeff. They're giant continental rabbits, and they're just freaking huge.

Story continues after these amazingly cute photos:

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Annette Edwards with Jeff the Rabbit. The world's biggest bunny rabbit has got competition for his heavyweight title this Easter thanks to his son. Giant rabbit, Darius, who measures over four feet long and weighs in at a whopping three and a half stone, is officially the worlds biggest rabbit. But this Easter his title is being contended by his son Jeff, who has grown almost as big, measuring three foot eight inches long.
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Jeff, left, and Darius.
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Jeff and Darius the rabbit.
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Ava Johnson with Jeff the rabbit.
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Ava Johnson with Jeff the rabbit.

But contrary to Bay-logic, just because they're big doesn't mean they're inherently destructive. Quite the opposite, these lagomorphs of unusual size are incredibly gentle.

"They're no different to keeping smaller rabbits. In fact, I'd say they're easier. The giant rabbits plod around like dogs, where as the small rabbits, they tend to burrow and be scatty," owner Annett Edwards told Caters TV.

Edwards, who raised both rabbits in rural Worcestershire, England, says the trick is to expose them to people early and often.

"They're very laid back. They've been handled since they were tiny. If you put a lot of time into [the] animals, you get a nice bunny back," Edwards said.

Edwards says they munch their way through 2,000 carrots and 700 apples every year, so a lot of money goes directly into the bunnies' bellies.

Five-year-old Darius is currently over 4 feet tall, but at 3 feet 8 inches, 1-year-old Jeff is swiftly catching up. Edwards thinks Jeff will one day be even bigger than his dad. There's lots of time to find out, since giant continentals live about 8 years.

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