A group of rabbits is called a colony and lives in a network of underground tunnels called a warren.

European rabbits are the only rabbit species that live in large social groups. Most other types, like cottontails, live alone. A warren is a complex system of burrows that can be decades old because generations of rabbits keep digging and expanding them.Inside the colony, rabbits follow a strict social rank. The highest-ranking males and females get the safest sleeping spots in the middle of the warren. They use scent glands under their chins to mark their territory and identify other members of the group.The tunnels include special rooms for sleeping and nesting. Small emergency exits called bolt holes allow rabbits to vanish underground quickly if a fox or hawk appears. Living together helps them survive because more rabbits are watching for danger at the same time.If a rabbit sees a predator, it thumps its back legs on the ground. This creates a vibration that travels through the soil to warn the rest of the colony. In the 1950s, researchers from the CSIRO in Australia studied these behaviors to understand how rabbits manage their underground lives.