Wild Baby Bunnies

Living in a Suburban Wild Kingdom

Okay, calm down. Don’t overreact. There is no need to call the police.  It’s going to be fine. It's just that there's a fox in our backyard.

WE HAVE A FOX IN OUR BACKYARD!

Among other creatures.

I’ve always found the idea that it’s safer to live in the suburbs than in the city to be rather absurd, considering the amount of wildlife that roam our area.

Some mornings I see so many different kinds of species that I feel like I’ve been transported to a Rachel Carson trail .

Last week alone I watched two possums climb my crab apple tree, a trio of raccoons eat through our heavy-duty garbage cans and two baby bunnies playing tag in my neighbor’s yard.

Yep. I live in a Disney cartoon.

The fox concerns me. He’s very adorable, and I don’t want a misguided, overly testosterone-laden neighbors to shoot him. 

I also don’t want the cute little varmint to attack me some night when I’m stumbling home after a show because he mistakes my ankles for baby piglets.

Foxes eat piglets, right? Or do they steal pies from window sills? No. That’s crows.

Anyway, the fox is half of my problem. I have this family of deer that chills in our yard. Buck Daddy likes to ram his antlers against one of our trees repeatedly. It apparently feels good to him.

I vaguely recall a news item that said something about bucks that ram their antlers against trees might also do that to some people because they can’t tell the difference.

The possums freak me out. What is up with those guys? I can never tell when they are “playing dead” or actually dead. Who wants theatrical animals living in their neighborhood?

Also, with the heat, the snakes are back. I know several people with a debilitating fear of snakes. I can barely handle the slithering beasts. 

I saw a seven-foot black snake in the middle of my street the other day. Dead. It had a giant bullet hole on the left side of its body, and it appeared to have been run over a couple hundred times.

First of all, I would like to thank my neighbor who shot the snake. Not for shooting the snake, but for NOT shooting the gas line and causing a major explosion. Well done, suburban Rambo!

Secondly, why are we killing snakes, especially black snakes? They are harmless. 

To expand the notion of a famous quote, “Why can’t we all just get along?

How to care for a wild baby rabbit? | Answares.com

We found a wild baby rabbit behind our doghouse today, and we have it in a cage separate from our other 2 rabbits. It is 3 and a half to 4 inches long, and seems to be in shock. The rabbit is not moving, eating, or drinking. But you can see it’s nose moving. Is there anything I can do to help the little baby rabbit? What can I give to eat and drink? We already gave it some hay to hide in, water, lettuce, and carrots.

its great that you want to help. but you should NOT of touched the rabbit or brought it into your house, the mother would of came back for it. if no you should let nature take it course….if its out by its self. the mother could of kicked it out of its nest to it can fend for its self. do the right thing and put it back outside. its up to nature what happens to it.

If this animal has hair and its eyes are opened, it’s about 4 weeks old and already weaned. Full grown cottontails only weigh a couple of pounds- the babies are SMALL! I know it’s tiny but it can take care of itself. LET IT GO! I used to manage a pet store and I saw this all the time. Rabbits easily die from shock. If you try to keep it or handle it, the odds are it will die. If your yard is not acceptable, take it to a place where the grass is kept short with patches of brush around it. Cemetaries and golf courses are perfect. The resident rabbits will find it and take it into the warren. Trust me-I’ve been through this dozens of times!

“Many people mean well when they contact HRS after discovering an “abandoned” nest of wild rabbits. Often they wish to “rehabilitate” them with some advice from others. The reality is fewer than 10% of orphaned rabbits survive a week, and the care that people attempt to provide can be illegal, unnecessary, and potentially harmful. The best thing you can do is put the bunny right back where you found him, in the general area, as the Mom will only come back at night to call and find him. Leave the area…Older baby bunnies who are found outside of the nest may not be orphaned or in need of assistance. Baby cottontails are born without fur but develop a full coat in a week. Their eyes open in 10 days, and in three to four weeks they are weaned. At this age, they may explore the world outside of the nest but return there to sleep. They are not ignored by the mother but stay with the family group until four or five weeks of age… If he is just out and about, leave him be. He is discovering his world, waiting for mom to return at night when we humans are asleep.

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