20/05/2020
Mini Lionlop
This is a very new breed of rabbit, having been developed in the UK in the early 2000s and was only accepted by the British Rabbit Club is 2006. The Mini Lion Lop is a very small animal, typically weighing 3-4lbs. The Mini Lion Lop shares many characteristics with the Mini Lop, but displays the very distinctive Lionhead mane and a hairier area on the chest. Currently the breed is championed by Jane Bramley in the UK, who worked tirelessly to achieve recognition for the Mini Lion Lop.
History
The Mini Lion Lop was developed after breeders put a Lionhead Rabbit to one of the smaller Lop breeds. The Lionhead itself was developed in Europe following the appearance of a genetic mutation which lent a longer-haired breed the striking mane and bib the Lionhead breed is recognised for. As the gene that gives the animal its distinctive Lionhead characteristics is dominant, breeding a pure-bred Lionhead with another rabbit will produce an animal with a mane and a bib. The Mini Lion Lop has been produced by breeding the Lionhead with Mini Lops and Lionhead/Mini Lop hybrids. Lionheads have also been put to Dwarf Lops to create a Dwarf Lion Lop.
Appearance
Main colourways: black, agouti, white (with blue or red eyes), sooty, fawn, orange, butterfly, black otter, black fox, sable, smoke, beige, opal and steel Average weight: 1.5 – 1.6kg A small rabbit, the Mini Lion Lop typically weighs around 3 – 3.5lbs with a robust ‘cobby’ build. The body is short and strong, with stocky back legs and well-rounded haunches. The head of the Mini Lion Lop is wide, with a curvy profile and the ears and wide and hang down the sides of the head. The Lion Lop has lovely, soft medium length hair which culminates in a longer mane of fur encircling the head. This mane creates a ‘V’ behind the neck and falls over the head in between the ears. A large number of colours are accepted by the British Rabbit Council including blacks, sables, orange, butterfly, steel, white, opal and agouti among others.