Just Cruisin'
Had some fun this past weekend, what with our usual geocaching (and catching a baby bunny).
When we had finished up a caching session in a park, we stopped by the restrooms and came across this poor, lost little 'feller'. When I caught the bunny and picked him up, the girls were quite surprised to find out that a rabbit can scream loudly when they feel threatened.
He calmed down pretty quickly, epecially with Katrina petting him gently.
We looked around for bunny-holes or any other place a rabbit might feel at home and there was nothing even close to where we found him. We finally chose a thicket that would offer him some security from other critters, something to eat and was near the pond. Good luck, little guy!
It seems like we're going to have an interesting holiday season, with my having to drive up to Indiana for work, then Luann and Katrina will fly up to Indianapolis and I'll pick them up from the airport and we'll head to West Allis, Wisconsin to visit Luann's family, then finally continue on to the big family Christmas get-together at Jody and Jenn's house in Minneapolis. Whew!! I'm so booked up with training jobs that I have no openings until mid-February.
Well, the weekend is coming up, so I hope to get things in order for Thanksgiving. And am also hoping to make room in the carport so I can wheel the Volvo in there and finish it up. I need to finish my own car so Katrina can drive the truck when her driver's license is upgraded to Operator's status.
posted by The Nieborgs | 11/15/2007 08:59:00 PM
2 Comments:
It's never a good idea to handle a baby rabbit as the mother will not take them back into the den. Pair that with the fact that the rabbit was most likely in shock from being handled and you most likely killed this rabbit. Unless a wild animal is actually injured, it is never a good idea to handle them. The stress alone is enough to kill a rabbit.
Dear Anonymous, thank you for taking the time to read our blog, but unfortunately there is more here than meets the eye. The rabbit was in the men's bathroom in the park, cowering under the urinal. The bathroom building is located far from any other structure, or flora for that matter. Nothing was closer than about 200 feet with the suroundings being relatively flat. No animal habitat, no concealment, nothing...
We carefully inspected the area before attempting to retrieve the urine-soaked bunny in order to see if there was a hole or other some such refuge that it may have come from, to no avail.
Interestingly, there was also a falcon at roost on a light-pole that seemed to be exceedingly interested in something at this building (dive-bombing it several times) and after having been raised in the Everglades, this naturally gained my attention. I can say unequivocably that without human intervention, this animal would most likely have seen his life end that day as food for a bird of prey.
It is remotely possible that our actions might have killed this animal. If so, it is through no fault of our own, as we made a well-informed and experienced decision to rescue a baby rabbit. It is a common misconception that an animal which has been handled by humans will be rejected by its parentage or siblings were it to make it back to its den. Thankfully, wildlife intervention studies have proven this urban legend to be relatively untrue.
Also, if the very act of catching him 'frightened him to death', then this means the process of natural selection would be at work here. A wild animal should be capable of withstanding careful, non-injurious capture and susequent release. The procedure was performed with due diligence and correct handling techniques. I am not a proponent of handling rabbits by the nape of the neck or by the ears, as might be seen in Hollywood, as this does cause stress and (often), physical harm to the animal.
Thank you again for your comment, but unfortunately, you have seen only a few pictures, read a few words and in doing so, have judged the scene based upon limited information. There are many more pictures before, during and after the capture of the bunny that were not presented, and as I have written here, even more that could have been said about the subject, but was unneccessary for those whom know us well.
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