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The Owsla is a group of rabbits which consists of captains and officers, who are the primary "policemen" of the warren. The Owsla are comprised of strong, intelligent and clever rabbits, but sometimes a talented storyteller or a seer can become a member of the Owsla. The duties of the Owsla can be from garden raiders and patrollers to fighters, or a group of talented soldiers under a warlord. Owsla consists of second-years or older rabbits who defend the Chief Rabbit and his doe, and exercise the authorities of the warren. The captains of the Owsla report directly to the Chief Rabbit.

Notable Owsla officers in the novel are Holly, Scabious and Bigwig of the Sandleford Warren, and Campion, Vervain, Chervil, Avens and Groundsel of Efrafa.

On Watership Down Warren, Bigwig is the captain of the Owsla. However, as Hazel says in Tales from Watership Down about Watership Down's Owsla, "We're all in the Owsla, really".

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