Easter and spring always mean lots of baby chicks, ducks and of course bunnies. Everybody loves bunnies- they are so endearing with their sweet pink noses, long, goofy ears and fluffy white tail, but there is so much more to rabbits than meets the eye.
Wildlife Ambassadors is home to three bunnies. Simon a tan netherland dwarf mix came to us via the animal shelter when his owners dumped him outside. This occurred soon after Easter, Simon was just a baby. Domestic rabbits are far different from our native Eastern cottontails and could not survive out in the wild. Ella, is a big black lionhead mix rabbit that was given up as well. And then there is Thumper who is a real favorite with everyone. At less than 2 pounds this adorable pure white bunny with blue eyes could steal anyone's heart. He was bought for a 2 year old and soon found himself unwanted. In the 15 years that we have presented wildlife programs we have always had bunnies and their stories are quite similar. While bunnies are cute there is so much more to them. They are extremely social and love human interaction. They are also quite smart. Thumper has learned to walk on a harness and lead and loves it. They can also live an average of 10 years, so while they can be outstanding pets, they need a lot of love and healthy food to thrive.

Rabbits are outstanding athletes and can run quickly as well as zig zag to confuse predators. They can jump an average of 12 feet in one single bound. Perhaps their senses are one of the most impressive things about them. Rabbit eyes are monocular- they are on the sides of their heads. This means they can see two things at one time to help them avoid danger. We, on the other hand have binocular vision and focus on one thing at a time. Everyone loves those large rabbit ears but aside from excellent hearing, they actually work like air conditioning, radiating heat away from the rabbit's body, thus cooling the animal. Rabbits also have adorable wiggly noses that never seem to stop twitching. Humans have about 1 million scent cells in their nose. Rabbits have around 100 million scent cells in their noses! Every time their noses twitch, folds in their nose can open and take in scents allowing the rabbit to "read" what is going on around him.

Wild Rabbits.
April is the time when Eastern cottontail babies are born. The mother makes a shallow nest sometimes right out in the open. Babies are born blind, hairless and helpless. In the spring, please check brush piles before burning and walk through long grass before mowing, many baby rabbits are killed each year as people start their spring yard cleaning. Rabbit nests are carefully watched over by the mama rabbit but you will not see her at the nest with the babies. This often leads people to believe the babies are abandoned. Most often they are not and should be left alone. Unless you are certain the mother rabbit has been killed, babies should be left alone as they are fragile and humans cannot ever raise them as well as their mother can. Mother rabbits typically feed babies early in the morning and late at night but stay away during the day so her scent does not attract predators to her nest. It is also a myth that if a human has touched her babies, she will abandon them. Instead she will probably move them to a new nest in the middle of the night.

Rabbits are very adaptive, smart and interesting animals. Their adaptations for survival are very impressive. Pet rabbits can be amazing and rewarding companions, but like all companion animals, they need a lot of care and attention and may have a fairly long life span. Ella, Thumper and Simon have had a very busy week appearing at Bunny Bonanza, Ballentine Farm's Eggstravaganza and today's event at Morven Park. They made many children smile and as always are wonderful ambassadors. As the third most given up pet in the country, we also hope many people listened to their stories this week and give rabbits the credit they are due. We hope you and yours have a truly Hoppy Easter!