Alaska
The Alaska was created in Germany around 1900 by breeders aiming for a rabbit with the pelt of an Alaskan fox.
The fox markings never materialised and what remained was a solid, intensely black rabbit, which is how the breed was standardised.
It is a medium rabbit of compact commercial type, weighing around three to four kilograms, with a short dense glossy coat that should be black right through to the skin with no rusty cast. Recognised across Europe and still fairly common in Germany and the Netherlands, it is uncommon elsewhere. The temperament is generally calm and manageable, as with most medium commercial breeds.
- Origin
- Germany, around 1900
- Size
- 3–4 kg
- Lifespan
- 8–10 years
- Coat
- Short, dense and glossy, solid black
- Temperament
- Calm and even-tempered
- Recognition
- Widely recognised in Europe; rare elsewhere
3 alaska photos, newest first
Living with a alaska
Keep rabbits in neutered pairs — a lone rabbit is a lonely one, and bonding is far easier when both are neutered.
Hay is around eighty per cent of the diet, not bedding. Teeth grow continuously and only long-fibre chewing wears them evenly, so a pellet-heavy diet leads directly to dental disease.
Vaccinate annually against myxomatosis and both strains of rabbit haemorrhagic disease, indoor rabbits included.
A dense dark coat shows heat stress late. Rabbits cannot pant effectively and are far more at risk in warm weather than cold; shade, ventilation and a cool tile to lie on matter in summer.
General guidance, not veterinary advice. Individual rabbits vary, and anything about a specific animal is a question for a vet who has seen it.
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