Ambassador since 2020
Oryctolagus cuniculus
- Mopsy was adopted from Tails Humane Society in DeKalb, IL. She was about a year old at the time and had been rescued from a hoarding situation.
- She is named after the Beatrix Potter character who was Peter Rabbit’s sister. Longtime visitors to Hickory Knolls might remember our own Peter Rabbit, a large Palomino bunny who served as an ambassador for the Park District’s nature department for over 12 years.
- The lionhead breed of rabbit originated in France and Belgium in the early 2000s. Like all pet rabbits, lionheads are descended from an Old World species and are only distantly related to our native cottontail rabbits.
- Rabbits are not rodents! They belong to the order Lagomorpha, which also includes hares and pikas. Lagomorphs have four incisors in their upper jaw – two prominent teeth with two smaller ‘peg’ teeth behind them. Also unlike rodents, which might occasionally feed on insects and other animal protein, lagomorphs are strict herbivores.