The main reason rabbits thump is because they are scared. In the wild, thumping is how rabbits in the warn their family group of danger. It’s also common for rabbits will also thump when they are territorial or angry.
However, rabbits are smart. If you have a pet rabbit who seems to thump any time they want attention, you’re not alone. While their instinct is to thump when they are scared or angry, rabbits can learn that when they thump, they get attention.
When rabbits thump for attention
Thumping for attention is not necessarily an instinctual behavior, but rabbits are smart creatures. They are able to learn pretty quickly that when they thump, they get attention. This means that if you go to your rabbit and pet them every single time they thump, you’re conditioning your rabbit to continue this behavior more often.
They’ll start giving a loud THUMP every time they want a treat or every time they want to be pet and adored. It can end up being pretty disruptive in the long run.
To discourage this behavior, you’ll need to learn how to distinguish between when rabbits are thumping because they are scared and when they are thumping because they want attention.
When a rabbit is scared, you do want to comfort them and help them to feel better. On the other hand, when a rabbit is thumping because they are attention seeking, you should ignore them until they stop throwing a tantrum. Then reward their behavior after they have calmed down a little.
So how do you tell the difference? It’s all in the body language. Over time you’ll have a better idea of rabbit body language and be able to know the difference just by looking at your rabbit. In the meantime, here are some tips to help you figure it out.
Rabbits who are thumping out of fear will:
- Have wide eyes
- Have ears forward and alert
- Have an alert body posture, posing on their toes and look ready to run away
- Ignore you while they move from place to place trying to locate the danger
- Thump multiple times, not stopping when you come close
Rabbits who are thumping for attention will:
- Have ears back at an angle or up looking confident
- Have a confident body posture
- Usually thump only once to see if you react, then thump again if you don’t respond
- Stop thumping once they get what they want (a treat, petting)
Sources:
- Randall, Jan. “Evolution and Function of Drumming as Communication in Mammals.” American Zoologist. Oxford Academic. October 2001. Accessed: https://academic.oup.com/icb/article/41/5/1143/343335.
- Stephen L. Black and C.H. Vanderwolf. “Thumping Behavior In The Rabbit.” Physiology & Behavior. Science Direct. September 1968. Accessed: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0031938469901346.
- Woodnutt, Joanna BVM BVS MRCVS. “Why Is My Rabbit Thumping?” VetHelpDirect. June 6, 2019. https://vethelpdirect.com/vetblog/2019/06/06/why-is-my-rabbit-thumping.
- Zarbock, Marylou. “Why Do Rabbits Thump?” Lafeber Company. February 3, 2017. https://lafeber.com/mammals/why-do-rabbits-thump.
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