List of Watership Down Characters - Main Rabbits

Main Rabbits

• Hazel: The main character. He is initially the only rabbit who trusts his brother Fiver. He becomes the leader of the rabbits when they reach Watership Down, with a particular talent at bringing out the best in his followers and inspiring their loyalty. He is thought dead when he is shot during the raid on Nuthanger Farm, but Fiver and Blackberry save him. In the epilogue of the novel and the 1978 feature film, Hazel, now an aged rabbit, is invited by El-ahrairah to join his Owsla (a special group of clever rabbits dedicated to protecting their Chief Rabbit and his warren), to which Hazel accepts.
• Fiver: Hazel's younger brother; his Lapine name is Hrairoo, which means "Little-thousand". He is a seer, and his visions of the destruction of the Sandleford warren compel him to leave, along with his brother Hazel and several other rabbits. His visions guide his considerable wisdom, such as when he realizes the true danger of the snared warren, which wins him the respect of his fellows who come to accept his counsel without question. Later, when Hazel is wounded by a gunshot in a raid on a human farm's rabbit hutch, Fiver has a vision that enables him to save his brother. He also gives Hazel a vision that inspires Hazel to set up the release of the Nuthanger Farm dog to save the Watership Down warren from General Woundwort. In the TV series, Fiver's visions come in rhymes, and he often feels responsible for foreseeing terrible things, blaming himself for their outcome.
• Bigwig: His name in Lapine is Thlayli, which means "Fur-head" and refers to the shock of fur on the top of his head. Formerly an officer in the Sandleford Owsla, the largest and best fighter of the Sandleford survivors. He is often blunt and impatient for dangerous action and fighting. He quickly befriends Kehaar. Hazel often selects him for the most dangerous missions, such as the infiltration of Efrafa and guarding the run against General Woundwort, a stand that nearly kills him. Later, he becomes captain of the Watership warren's "free-and-easy" Owsla.
• Blackberry: A clever buck rabbit with black-tipped ears. He is often capable of understanding concepts that the other rabbits find incomprehensible. He realizes, for instance, that wood floats, and the rabbits use this tactic twice to traverse on water. He also works out how to dismantle the snare that almost kills Bigwig, saving him. He is one of Hazel's most trusted advisors, given the task to plan for a way to rescue does from Efrafra. In the television series, Blackberry is a female character and falls in love with Campion.
• Dandelion: A buck rabbit notable for his storytelling ability and speed. He is instrumental in luring the Nuthanger Farm dog into the Efrafans during the siege of Watership Down. He is voice acted by Richard O'Callaghan in the film and Phill Jupitus in the television series, seasons 1 and 2. In the TV series, Dandelion is strangely one of the slowest of rabbits and, though still an accomplished storyteller, is more of a joker similar to Bluebell from the books. He is also a good friend of Hawkbit.
• Pipkin: A small and timid buck rabbit, who looks to Hazel for guidance and protection. Hazel encourages him, and Pipkin grows very loyal to Hazel. He proves to be a constant comforter, particularly for Holly after the destruction of Sandleford warren. In the TV series, Pipkin's characterization is notably different; here he is a very young and adventurous rabbit eager to prove himself in the eyes of the bigger companions—particularly Hazel and Bigwig. During the last season Pipkin grows up to be a responsible rabbit, even leading the "Junior Owsla". His name is Hlao - Roo in Lapine.
• Silver: A large rabbit with grey fur and the Threarah's nephew. A member of the Sandleford Owsla, he chose to leave with Hazel's band. His solid reliability served Hazel at those times when Bigwig's hot-headedness is more a hindrance than help. Silver is absent from the television series.
• Buckthorn: A tough, sturdy rabbit with a quiet and easygoing nature. Like Silver, he is steadfast and dependable in a crisis.
• Hawkbit: Described in the beginning as a "rather slow, stupid rabbit", he joins Hazel's company in the escape from Sandleford. Together with Speedwell and Acorn, he begins complaining and insisting on returning to the warren, but is brow-beaten into submission by Bigwig. Later, Hawkbit apologizes to Hazel and from thence forth is a loyal and dependable follower. His solo foray leads him to discover the existing scrape runs on Watership Down, thus saving his comrades from spending their first night there in the open. In the TV series, Hawkbit is a pessimistic, grouchy and sarcastic rabbit who always has a biting comment for every situation, but is a dependable member of the warren whenever help is needed. An outstanding example of the effect Hazel has upon those rabbits who would otherwise have been totally disregarded in the warren hierarchy, he later becomes a good friend of the more cerebral Dandelion and during the last season settles down with Clover.
• Speedwell and Acorn: Outskirters from Sandleford who join up with Hazel's band and early in the journey side with Hawkbit when he wants to go back; but, like him, they are subdued by Bigwig and consequently have a change of heart. Both develop into reliable and loyal sentries. Speedwell is subsequently characterised as an energetic, easy-going joker who later makes a loyal and hard-working contribution to the defence of the warren against General Woundwort. Speedwell is the narrator of one of the short stories in Tales from Watership Down, the nonsense tale Speedwell's Story. Acorn doesn't really get a very strong characterization, though he is mentioned as being one of the most skilled rabbits when it comes to gathering bugs for the wounded Kehaar, and is unflaggingly loyal to Hazel in the battle of the warren against Woundwort. In Tales from Watership Down he dies due to wintertime hardship, and is as such the only one of Hazel's original crew to actually die over the course of the two books (not counting Hazel's own death many years later in the epilogue).
• Strawberry : Originally from Cowslip's warren, he was initially as aloof and evasive as Cowslip and his fellow rabbits when the Sandleford rabbits first arrive. After the death of his mate, Nildro-hain, by a snare (a threat that is common in his warren and has come to be accepted, but not talked about), Strawberry asks to join the Sandleford rabbits. He eventually becomes a valuable advisor in the construction of the main chamber at the Watership Down warren, similar to the communal burrow in his home warren. Because he comes to them under a cloud due to his behaviour as part of Cowslip's warren, he works especially hard to earn the trust of his new comrades. It is said that he becomes a founding father of the new warren between Watership and Efrafa; this is also told in Tales from Watership Down.
• Holly: Former captain of the Sandleford Owsla, he tries to arrest Hazel and his group on the night they leave Sandleford. After men destroy the Sandleford Warren, he escapes and finds the Watership Down rabbits, though he is wounded and exhausted. Seeing Hazel's leadership skills in practice, he submits himself to Hazel and follows him loyally. In the TV series, Holly has only a minor role and is mostly used as a background character for two seasons, however he has some roles as the new Owsla trainer in the last season.
• Bluebell: The only rabbit besides Holly to survive destruction of the Sandleford Warren and reach Watership Down. Bluebell is a compulsive joker whose chattering has often kept the others running, for good or for ill, when physical exertion takes its toll. Holly notes that, after barely surviving the destruction of the Sandleford Warren, he could not have completed his journey to rejoin Hazel's group without Bluebell's constant joking, and is quite attached to Bluebell. When Holly tells the tale of their escape, it is Bluebell who provides the account describing the terrifying effects of the gas on the rabbits underground, and of how he and Pimpernel aided one another to escape. He is the only rabbit in the book apart from Dandelion to tell a story of El-ahrairah.
• Scabious: A buck in Clover's litter. He eventually joins the "free-and-easy" Owsla, and trains under Bigwig. Probably named after Scabious from the Sandleford warren
• Threar: One of the children of Fiver and Vilthuril. Like his father, he is also a seer. Probably named after The Threarah, the Chief Rabbit of the Sandleford warren.