Rabbits also gnaw and cut plastic irrigation lines. Most rabbit damage is close to the ground, except where snow allows rabbits to reach higher portions of plants. Twig clipping by rabbits is sometimes confused with deer browsing. Deer have no upper front teeth and must twist and pull when browsing, leaving a ragged break on the branch. Rabbits clip twigs off cleanly, as if with a knife.
Rabbits tend to gnaw the smooth, thin bark from young trees.
The rough bark of older trees discourages gnawing, although old damage and gnaw marks are often present on old bark along with fresh patches of gnawing in areas of younger growth. Gnawing can completely girdle a tree, and clipping can remove the terminal shoot and lateral branches from plants. Damage by cottontails and brush rabbits is often concentrated in areas near escape cover. Tularemia, or rabbit fever, may be carried by rabbits. This disease is relatively rare in humans but can be contracted by handling an infected rabbit with bare hands or by eating insufficiently cooked rabbit meat.