Rabbit
- You may be looking for the slang term favoured by Tegan.
A rabbit, colloquially a bunny, was a small Earth mammal.
Rabbits on Earth
On Earth, rabbits were so prized for their meat that they could inspire poaching. This certainly happened in England around the time of the Great Fire of London. (TV: The Visitation [+]Loading...["The Visitation (TV story)"]) Centuries later, Ernie Clements, the poacher who worked the grounds of Marcus Scarman's house, caught a rabbit shortly before spotting a robot mummy removing itself from one of his traps. (TV: Pyramids of Mars [+]Loading...["Pyramids of Mars (TV story)"])
Rabbits were also kept as pets. The Fifth Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan Jovanka once met a boy named Rithros who had lost his pet rabbit. The Doctor used his celery stick to lure the animal back to his master. (PROSE: Goths and Robbers [+]Loading...["Goths and Robbers (short story)"]) As a child Yasmin Khan begged her parents for a pet rabbit but was given a stuffed rabbit instead as her father Hakim was allergic to animal fur. (PROSE: The Secret in Vault 13 [+]Loading...["The Secret in Vault 13 (novel)"]) Charlotte Pollard also had a pet rabbit named Mopsy. (AUDIO: Zagreus [+]Loading...["Zagreus (audio story)"])
Susan Foreman cooked rabbit while heading to the Dalek mine in Bedfordshire. Carl Tyler ate some. (TV: The Dalek Invasion of Earth [+]Loading...["The Dalek Invasion of Earth (TV story)"])
Magicians used to pull rabbits out of hats. (TV: The Sontaran Stratagem [+]Loading...["The Sontaran Stratagem (TV story)"], COMIC: The Hat Trick [+]Loading...["The Hat Trick (comic story)"]) In 1923, the magician Miraclo attempted this feat, believing it would make him famous. He was unaware that he had been manipulated by the rabbit-like Lepus Warriors, who had turned the hat into a warp gate which would allow them to cross into his dimension in an attempted invasion. (COMIC: The Hat Trick [+]Loading...["The Hat Trick (comic story)"])
Boa constrictors preyed on rabbits and ate them whole. (TV: The Time Monster [+]Loading...["The Time Monster (TV story)"])
In medieval times the term "cony" was also used. In 1400, after the bird failed to catch anything while hawking, Sir Robert de Wensley told his hawk there would be "no cony for your supper". (AUDIO: The Doctor's Tale [+]Loading...["The Doctor's Tale (audio story)"])
In 1562, the Tenth Doctor came across a rabbit in England and, believing it to be a Zygon in disguise, gave it an intimidating speech, only to realise that it was just an ordinary rabbit, amending it to a "general warning". (TV: The Day of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Day of the Doctor (TV story)"])
Constance Clarke's great-uncle Jasper spent much of his time at his expensive manor house in the country taking potshots at rabbits. (AUDIO: Shield of the Jötunn [+]Loading...["Shield of the Jötunn (audio story)"])
Bugs Bunny was a rabbit who was once chased by Yosemite Sam. (GAME: TV Terrors Autograph Hunt [+]Loading...["TV Terrors Autograph Hunt (game)"]) By one account, he was a cartoon character. (PROSE: Doctor Who: The Encyclopedia [+]Loading...{"page":"40","ed":"2011 edition","1":"Doctor Who: The Encyclopedia (reference book)"})
As slang
The Fourth Doctor once asked K9 if he wanted to chase some rabbits. Adric had to explain to him that this meant they were going somewhere. (PROSE: Inter-Galactic Cat [+]Loading...["Inter-Galactic Cat (short story)"])
"Rabbits!" was a favourite interjection of Tegan Jovanka, usually used when she was frustrated or disappointed. (TV: Logopolis [+]Loading...["Logopolis (TV story)"], PROSE: Graham Dilley Saves the World [+]Loading...["Graham Dilley Saves the World (short story)"]) The Eleventh Doctor once used the word in a similar way. (COMIC: Hunters of the Burning Stone [+]Loading...["Hunters of the Burning Stone (comic story)"])
He also used it to describe how humans kept multiplying and spreading through the universe, in reference to the animal's well known high birthrate. (TV: The Time of Angels [+]Loading...["The Time of Angels (TV story)"])
Claiming that she could save the universe from the final Flux event, the Thirteenth Doctor told the Division's Ood that she was "very good at pulling rabbits out of hats." When the Ood stated that he had neither rabbits nor hats, the Doctor explained that it was a metaphor. (TV: Survivors of the Flux [+]Loading...["Survivors of the Flux (TV story)"])
Extra-terrestrial rabbits
Rabbit-like creatures lived on the meteorite M5. (AUDIO: The Destroyers [+]Loading...["The Destroyers (audio story)"])
According to the Third Doctor, a giant rabbit was a delegate at the Third Intergalactic Peace Conference. (TV: Frontier in Space [+]Loading...["Frontier in Space (TV story)"])
The Eighth Doctor and C'rizz once encountered some rather large rabbits on Caerdroia. At the time, the Doctor told C'rizz that there were rabbits on Gallifrey, as well, but they were "rounder and cuddlier" than Earth rabbits. (AUDIO: Caerdroia [+]Loading...["Caerdroia (audio story)"]) Toy rabbits were held by Time Lord children during the Fall of Arcadia. (TV: The Day of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Day of the Doctor (TV story)"])
On Dagomere, giant rabbits were known to dig large tunnels. (PROSE: The Tree of Life [+]Loading...["The Tree of Life (novel)"])
A young Gallifreyan child held a stuffed rabbit toy during the Fall of Arcadia. (TV: The Day of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Day of the Doctor (TV story)"])
The Eleventh Doctor recalls a saying, "Let the Time Lord see the rabbit." (COMIC: The Eternal Dogfight [+]Loading...["The Eternal Dogfight (comic story)"])
Other references
On Mechanistria, the First Doctor watched an approaching Grukker "like a hypnotised rabbit watches the approach of the cobra." (PROSE: Peril in Mechanistria [+]Loading...["Peril in Mechanistria (short story)"])
The Twelfth Doctor once compared Santa Claus to the "Easter Bunny". (TV: Last Christmas [+]Loading...["Last Christmas (TV story)"])
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