Like the toddlers game – what does a cow sound like? Moo. What does a cat sound like? Meow. And so on. But what about a bunny? They are quiet creatures out of survival necessity, but the cry of a baby bunny will rip out your heart. Especially a terrified baby being picked up by a huge scary human and carried way above the safe ground to be stimulated to pee and poo, before being tube fed.
Waaah! Bunnies are fast and their cry is loud. “I’m scared! I’m not happy!” Put me down!”
It turns out that most bunnies in the TWC have been attacked by cats. One in there now has wounds all along is underbelly and is not eating – you can feel its vertebrae through its skin. The others in care are doing better – more fat and muscle on them, faster. All are bright eyed and alert.
There’s often a shortage of fresh greens for the bunnies. So I weeded my yard for the first time, and brought a big grocery bag overflowing with huge healthy thriving dandelion greens. And my yard looks better, too. (Finally found the right motivation!) But those lasted about half an hour since so many creatures need greens, and found myself out hunting the fresh-cut grasses of the industrial complex for dandelion and clover. I lucked upon an area behind an industrial building where there were large clusters of clover. Fun fact: even wild bunnies are inclined to use a litter box. At TWC, we put straw in a large plastic container in the enclosures and they use it naturally.
Image: ©Joel Sartore/National Geographic Photo Ark