 The travelling group of rabbits finds itself following the leadership of Hazel , previously an unimportant member of the warren . They travel through dangerous territory , with Bigwig and Silver , both former Owsla , as the strongest rabbits among them . Eventually they meet a rabbit named Cowslip , who invites them to join his warren . However , when Bigwig is nearly killed in a snare , the rabbits realize that the new warren is managed by a farmer who protects the rabbits but also harvests a number of them for his own purposes , and the residents of the new warren are simply using them to increase their own odds of survival . After Fiver rescues Bigwig from the snare they continue on their journey . 
