Awesome Animal Fact - Furry Rabbit Feet

Did you know rabbits do not have pads on the bottoms of their feet? You know what paw pads are, right? Those thick, leathery pads you see on the feet of cats and dogs (and many other mammals). Those pads cushion the feet, provide traction, provide stability when running, and allow animals to move quietly.

But rabbits, hares, and pikas (the mammals that make up the group called lagomorphs) simply do not have paw pads at all. Instead, they have an extra thick growth of fur on the bottoms of their feet. This thick fur serves most of the same functions as paw pads, providing protection to the feet, stability, and traction. And of course warmth.

I've always thought it was a bizarre custom, but when I was a kid (in the 60s and 70s), people commonly carried around a preserved rabbit's foot on their keychain. These could be purchased at many stores and gas stations. If you've ever seen a "lucky" keychain rabbit's foot, you might have noticed it was completely fur-covered, with no paw pads.