Night of the Lepus (1972) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Cole's horse steps into a rabbit hole while riding across the Arizona landscape, causing a severe injury that leaves the animal unable to move or recover. Facing a difficult decision and knowing he cannot transport the injured horse home, Cole makes the heartbreaking choice to shoot it rather than leave it suffering. This tragic event establishes the severity of the rabbit infestation and motivates Cole to seek scientific help for the problem.

Foreshadowing: The opening news report about overpopulation hints at the ecological imbalance that will affect all aspects of life in the region, including Cole's own property.

• cole hillman
• horse
• rabbit hole
• arizona ranch
• injury

The rabbits became giant after scientific experiments conducted by Roy Bennett and the university attempted to control the population through disease or reproductive disruption. An untested injection that Cole desperation-fed to a rabbit had the opposite effect, it caused accelerated growth without curbing the population. This unintended side effect transformed the normal rabbits into massive, aggressive creatures that attacked humans and livestock.

Foreshadowing: The university experiments show early signs of rabbits growing larger but otherwise appearing unaffected, foreshadowing the monstrous transformation.

• giant rabbits
• scientific experiment
• roy bennett
• mutation
• injection

Amanda swaps the rabbits because she has become emotionally attached to a particular rabbit she has been caring for and does not want it to be subjected to the experimental injection. When Cole prepares to inject an untested rabbit in a desperate attempt to save his ranch, Amanda believes she is protecting her pet by switching it with a rabbit from the control group. This act of compassion inadvertently contributes to the chain of events that leads to the rabbit escape and subsequent chaos.

Foreshadowing: Amanda's growing friendship with Cole's son Jackie and her developing bond with the rabbits establishes her protective attitude toward the animals.

• amanda bennett
• rabbit swap
• experiment
• compassion
• control group

After Jackie accidentally lets Amanda's rabbit loose during a conflict with her, the rabbit escapes into the wild. This escape becomes significant because the rabbit population is already undergoing mysterious changes from the experiments. The loose rabbit contributes to the growing chaos, and as tests continue at the university, the rabbits begin exhibiting abnormal size while remaining seemingly unaffected, raising alarm about what the injection might have done to the broader population.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes show the university's limited success with experiments, indicating something unusual is happening to the rabbit population.

• jackie
• rabbit escape
• chaos
• university experiments
• accidental release

Cole burns a section of his land to create a food-less environment that would starve the rabbits and reduce their population. This desperate measure reflects his growing frustration with the infestation and the failed scientific solutions. The burning provides temporary relief by driving the rabbits away from that area, but it does not solve the underlying problem of the growing rabbit horde.

Foreshadowing: The earlier desperation of ranchers shooting rabbits shows the extreme measures people will take when facing this crisis.

• cole hillman
• land burning
• starvation
• desperate measures
• rabbit control

The giant rabbits are discovered in an abandoned mine near Cole's ranch after unnatural animal tracks lead Cole and the Bennetts to investigate. The mine provides shelter for the mutated rabbits, which have grown to enormous sizes due to the experimental injection. This discovery transforms the situation from a simple infestation into a life-threatening crisis as the group realizes the true scale and danger of the mutated rabbit population.

Foreshadowing: The unusual tracks discovered earlier in the film hint that something larger and more dangerous than normal rabbits is roaming the area.

• abandoned mine
• giant rabbits
• discovery
• tracks
• cole hillman

The explosion intended to contain or kill the rabbits actually worsens the situation by creating chaos and panic rather than eliminating the threat. The massive rabbits, now highly aggressive due to their mutation, become even more dangerous when startled or angry. Instead of trapping the rabbits, the explosion scatters them and escalates the attacks on humans, including a tragic incident where a truck driver falls victim to the rabbit horde.

Foreshadowing: The discovery of the giant rabbits in the mine establishes that these creatures are beyond normal control methods.

• explosion
• failed plan
• rabbit attack
• truck driver
• chaos

The final strategy involves using the railroad tracks to electrocute the advancing swarm of giant rabbits. The group wires the tracks with electricity and lures the rabbit horde toward them, planning to shock and kill the creatures as they pass over the electrified rails. This desperate plan represents the culmination of their battle against the rabbits, with reinforcements arriving to help execute the dangerous strategy amid gunfire and chaos.

Foreshadowing: The escalating attacks and constant pressure from the rabbit horde force the group to resort to extreme measures.

• railroad
• electrocution
• final plan
• rabbit horde
• survival

By the film's end, coyotes return to the area as part of the natural ecological balance being restored after the rabbit crisis is resolved. The movie's message emphasizes that nature maintains its own equilibrium, and the return of coyotes represents a natural solution to the rabbit overpopulation problem that humans could not achieve through their interventions. Cole mentions this to the Bennetts as a hopeful sign that life is returning to normal.

Foreshadowing: The opening news report about Australia's rabbit problem mentions that predators like coyotes were part of the solution in managing populations.

• coyotes
• ecological balance
• nature
• return
• natural solution

The film delivers a cautionary message about scientific hubris and unintended consequences. The Bennett family's well-intentioned experiments to control the rabbit population through disease or reproductive disruption instead created giant, aggressive mutants. The movie suggests that human attempts to engineer natural solutions without fully understanding ecological systems can backfire catastrophically. The ultimate resolution comes not from scientific breakthroughs but from nature rebalancing itself through the return of predators.

Foreshadowing: Roy Bennett's experiments with bats for mosquito control show his focus on eco-friendly solutions, but the rabbit project demonstrates the risks of even well-intentioned scientific intervention.

• scientific hubris
• ecological balance
• unintended consequences
• nature
• warning