"Rabbit starvation" was a commonly encountered caution in my years in the north country. There is a story told about a man and his wife traveling (Eskimo couple the first several times I heard the story). Short version follows:

The man fell ill and unable to travel, so his wife set up camp and tended him. Not being a hunter, she did what anyone could do - she killed ptarmigan with a stick. As most folks know, ptarmigan are all breast - one big chunk of meat. Thinking to help her mate, she fed him the lion's share at every meal - the breast - keeping only the back for herself. A week goes by, and he is no better. Another week, and he is failing, while she is sleek and hale. "Hmmm - could there be something in the ptarmigan's back that is sustaining me?" She feeds him the backs from some ptarmigan. He immediately begins to recover...

The fat on a ptarmigan is on its back. Until proven to me one way or another, I believe that one probably will suffer dietary deficiencies from eating exclusively rabbit meat. I know how intensely I crave fat when diet deprives me of it (like extended periods on freeze-dried). The craving I experience is deeper than simply habit or hunger - hard to explain, but it's primordal and gets increasingly intense after about a week to ten days. YMMV...

There is more to fat than simply the fat-soluable vitamins, but that's a good start. I have killed and eaten rabbits (and squirrels) that have fat on them and no one has ever convincingly answered my question about rabbit fat - "Is it a useful/usable form of dietary fat or not?"

Ptarmigan are tasty and available year around many places up north. Porcupines are supposedly available as a "survival food", although I think they smell pretty nasty when butchered. When I've supplemented my rations with small game, no one had to tell me to stew (boil) the critters rather than roast them - I've wanted every drop of "gravy". I imagine the spectre of "rabbit starvation" is real for a very long haul but not so important in the short haul for an otherwise healthly person.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Regards,

Tom