Tuesday, April 26, 2016

The Case of the Strange Rabbit


4:21:2016
 4:22:2016 See the rabbit sitting under the lilac bush?  
    2:09PM There he is. He's been sitting in the same spot all day.  At a little after 10 this morning I noticed he was sitting there. 



  He periodically washes his feet and grooms similarly to the way a cat pursues personal hygiene, and then goes back to just sitting.

I wonder if he's sick.  Though he does look well groomed and healthy I can't figure out why he just sits there.

He disappeared from about 3 to 5 PM then sat again until it was nearly dark.

I called a friend who lives on a farm and asked whether she thought this was normal in wild rabbits.  She said she didn't know a lot about wild rabbits but she did know that at times they will just sit near their dens watching the world go by.

Okay, this may be normal but I certainly haven't seen any rabbit holes.  I've found one hole and it is the size made by a chipmunk or a ground squirrel.


4:23:2016 The next day at 1:15 I see him sitting at the north end of the dog run...just sitting once again.  He stayed again until it was almost dark.   Don't rabbits tend to eat all the time?  Is he waiting for a female to happen by perchance?  (Actually haven't seen any genitals so haven't actually sexed Rabbit yet.)



On the 24th at 5:35PM he was a bit further south and he was dining on grass at least.  Okay, but where is his "den"?   Have looked scrupulously...no rabbit holes.

Wait.   A den doesn't have to be a hole, right?  What is close that might constitute a den?  I start to search.
 
Ah Ha!  The wood pile.  Note that most of the crevices in the woodpile have old leaves in them except the one center.  And look at the pile of debris on the concrete below the black hole.  It is deeper there than any other spot.  Was it dug out of the opening.  I peer into the black space. Bunny could fit in there.  Perhaps that is his den and the  reason he is suddenly taking his ease around this area which is just north of his various cooling-his-bunny-heels spots.


Time will tell.

 Donegal Browne

No comments: