Chief Rabbit
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In the novels Watership Down, and Tales from Watership Down by Richard Adams, the chief rabbit is the top-ranking rabbit in a warren. He (occasionally she) is generally the most intelligent rabbit with leadership and decision-making skills. Either he has earned the most respect over time--like Hazel for example--and/or is most feared for his power and physical prowess, such as General Woundwort. He is expected to make important decisions for the entire warren. The Owsla serve the chief rabbit as his guard.
In Watership Down, the Sandleford Warren chief rabbit's refusal to take the prophecy of Fiver seriously led to the destruction of the entire warren. Hazel, however, became a chief rabbit in the spirit of El-ahrairah and accepted council from other rabbits as well as testing new ideas. This led to their survival and prosperity on Watership Down. General Woundwort, on the other hand, created a military-like structure for his warren and ruled with an autocratic hand.
Chief Rabbits take the suffix -Rah (Prince or Lord) to their names. Thus, the Chief Rabbit of the Sandleford warren was called Threarah (or Threar-Rah), whilst the final part of Watership Down is entitled Hazel-Rah, as Hazel takes on the leadership of the Watership Down warren. The title does not seem to have to be conferred ceremonially; Hazel is referred to as "Rah" by Blackberry, causing Bigwig to interrupt and declare "The day I call you Chief Rabbit, Hazel, that'll be the day, that will! I'll stop fighting that day." The name of El-ahrairah, the mythical first rabbit, actually comes from the phrase "elil-hrair-rah", which means in Lapine "the prince with a thousand enemies."
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