Unique Hairless Rabbit in Russian Village: Country's Only Bald Beast

«Meet Dobby, our hairless rabbit. The name was given by my daughter—she»s been a Harry Potter fan since childhood,« introduces her pet Galina Bazhaikina. She, along with her husband and children, has been raising rabbits for 15 years. But in all this time, the family has never seen a hairless rabbit. This leathery, long-eared creature is the only one in the country and the second in the world. How does this exclusive pet live? Why was it nursed by a Soviet chinchilla? And why has the offspring of the hairless rabbit been nicknamed labubu? Read in the material from our colleagues at 63.RU.

Now Dobby has grown to 5 kilograms (11 lbs), acquired a family, a funny wardrobe, a separate room in the house, and even his own Telegram channel, but in the autumn of 2024, the baby was an orphan: his mother rabbit died after giving birth.

«Dobby was born on 1 November 2024. His parents are ordinary White Pannon breed rabbits. A foster mother nursed the little one: at the same time, a female of the Soviet chinchilla breed gave birth, and we placed the orphan with her,» says Galina Bazhaikina. «All rabbit kittens are born without fur, by 10 days they grow down, and by a month they become fluffy. Dobby also initially grew fur on time, but then he molted. It turned out that all two-week-old kittens are sitting fluffy, and he alone is a poor bald thing. To prevent him from freezing, we took him into the house.»

The naked baby only «left» the house in Galina«s bosom and only to go to the farm—to drink milk from the nursing rabbit.

«Rabbit kittens undergo several molts as they grow. After the first molt, Dobby was bald until three months. Then from three to seven months, he had fur, but it didn»t cover his whole body, only his back, like a fur vest, one could say. The last molt in rabbits occurs before adulthood—from seven to ten months. During this period, Dobby lost his fur and it never grew back,« explains the owner.

At first, the Bazhaikins tried to find any mention of Sphynx rabbits or hairless rabbits on the internet. Who knows—maybe some «naked» gene from distant foreign ancestors sneaked into Dobby«s lineage? But a thorough search showed: there are no such breeds. Such a hairless rabbit exists only here and in Australia. But the eared one on the distant continent has a bit of fur on its muzzle, tail, and paws. Our unique one is completely naked.

«No one has registered a hairless breed of rabbits, no one even tried to breed it. So, one could say that we simply had a miracle happen. The veterinarian, when he saw him, said: »Maybe you«ll become famous,»« smiles the owner of the unique beast.

Galina pampers and cherishes her pet: treats him with tasty snacks and bathes him with baby soap. In the Bazhaikins« house, the rabbit has a separate room with a litter box, a water bottle, and a food bowl. The floor is covered with straw, and a special lamp maintains the required temperature.

«Dobby is comfortable at a temperature of +26°C (79°F), at +20°C (68°F) he freezes. His pink skin turns white, he curls up into a ball and sits motionless. His ears feel ice-cold to the touch. Therefore, when I let the rabbit out of the warm room to run around the house, I dress him in little suits. In his wardrobe, there is custom-knitted clothing, outfits bought in stores for cats and dogs. But the most comfortable for the rabbit are bodysuits that were left from my grandson,» says Galina.

The Bazhaikins« grandson and all the friends» children scatter with a squeal at the sight of the long-eared monster. Even teenagers reach out to pet him and immediately pull their hands back in fear. But this doesn«t upset Dobby at all. The only one from whom he wants hugs and who can handle him is Galina.

«He»s our monster, but a kind one. His skin is warm and velvety. He never scratches or bites. I sit on the sofa, call: «Rabbit, come here.» He understands and jumps onto my lap, would sit and not get down, just to be petted. Generally, Dobby«s intelligence is higher than that of other rabbits of his breed. He distinguishes my voice and responds specifically to it. If my husband, son, or daughter call, he doesn»t react,« Bazhaikina is surprised by the abilities of the exclusive animal. »In summer, in the heat, we go out for a walk with him. Our house is the last on the street and next to a meadow. He«s without a leash. He follows me. Doesn»t lag behind more than two meters.«

Six months ago, Dobby became the father of three daughters at once. They were born to a White Pannon breed rabbit. From the union of a mother in a fur coat and a naked father, semi-hairless rabbit kittens were born. Their muzzles, ears, paws, and tails are without fur, but their bodies are fluffy.

«Friends» children, when they saw them, said: «Oh, these are labubu!» So it stuck, we call them labubusi. Indeed, they resemble those toys. But they have their own names: Winky, Linky, and Tinky. In the Harry Potter books, the elf Dobby«s friend was named Winky. Well, and Linky and Tinky—we just named them for the rhyme,» explains Bazhaikina.

The last molt before sexual maturity hasn«t happened for the labubusi yet. So, whether they will remain half-dressed like this, completely bald, or, on the contrary, fully grow fur, is unclear. But the intelligence of the triplets, according to the owner»s observations, is definitely higher than that of other rabbits.

«They developed such an interesting ability that I had never observed in rabbits before. They learned to carry food in their teeth. Usually, you put a piece of carrot for a rabbit, and it will gnaw it right where you placed it. But here, first one learned to take a piece of carrot in its teeth, drag it to a corner, and eat it there. Then the second one did the same. Now the third one, the smallest labubusya, carries tasty treats in its teeth to not share with others. That is, they even learn from each other. I had never observed such a thing in rabbits. Can you imagine, they steal crackers, carrots, or even something not tasty from each other, hide, and eat. For now, they live together with Dobby, and he doesn»t have such behavior. But their brains work like that.«

Recently, the rabbit that strolls around the village naked as the day he was born became known at Moscow«s Scientific Research Institute of Fur Animal Breeding. They offered to buy him along with his family.

«I refused immediately, the conversation didn»t even get to the price. I myself am terribly curious to see what will happen next,« admits Galina.