Living in an old, quiet, tree-lined neighborhood, I see a lot of basic suburban wildlife around my house : tons of different songbirds, hawks, squirrels, rabbits, and the occasional hilarious chipmunk. You get used to the rhythms and patterns certain creatures have. Last evening i went into my bedroom to grab a CD and saw this bunny sitting outside of my window.
It wasn't eating. It wasn't looking around. It wasn't in that crazy "i'm holding really still cause i think i heard a predator and if i don't move maybe it won't see me and eat me" posture. It was just sitting. You gotta wonder what it was thinking. Was he enjoying the evening breeze? Was he relaxing after a big clover supper? Was he considering how he was going to support the rest of the warren in the current economic climate?
This is not normal, people. When was the last time you saw a primary consumer sitting in the open completely exposed? I mean, it is a prey animal; normally i see our rabbits hopping purposefully from yard to yard, scurrying under fences and around bushes. Not this guy. He's just sitting. In the driveway. Why the driveway? Don't ya think the grass would feel better on your little paws than the asphalt? The grass is right there - why are you hanging in the driveway?
I walked back into the living room, rooted around for a few minutes and then went back to the window with my camera expecting that he would have moved on. Nope. He was still there, chilling in the driveway. After i took several pictures (
shooting through the screen was interesting) the rabbit kinda glanced over its shoulder at me
and moved toward cover. But he didn't run; he sauntered. Did you know rabbits were even capable of sauntering? He took a step, then a long hop, a few more steps and then kind of a full body stretch
Really, he didn't go more that three feet. He didn't even go under the forsythia bush; he just had a seat under a low hanging branch.
Then he just chilled some more. It was the most uncharacteristic behavior for a fluffy woodland creature that i've ever seen: he wasn't darting about, he wasn't rummaging for food, he wasn't even hiding.
Does this rabbit not KNOW that he is at the bottom of the food chain?
About 30 minutes later when i was leaving the house i drove by this bush. He was stretched out under it, just looking around. It looked for all the world like he was surveying his kingdom. I wish i was that chill.
It wasn't eating. It wasn't looking around. It wasn't in that crazy "i'm holding really still cause i think i heard a predator and if i don't move maybe it won't see me and eat me" posture. It was just sitting. You gotta wonder what it was thinking. Was he enjoying the evening breeze? Was he relaxing after a big clover supper? Was he considering how he was going to support the rest of the warren in the current economic climate?
This is not normal, people. When was the last time you saw a primary consumer sitting in the open completely exposed? I mean, it is a prey animal; normally i see our rabbits hopping purposefully from yard to yard, scurrying under fences and around bushes. Not this guy. He's just sitting. In the driveway. Why the driveway? Don't ya think the grass would feel better on your little paws than the asphalt? The grass is right there - why are you hanging in the driveway?
I walked back into the living room, rooted around for a few minutes and then went back to the window with my camera expecting that he would have moved on. Nope. He was still there, chilling in the driveway. After i took several pictures (shooting through the screen was interesting) the rabbit kinda glanced over its shoulder at me
and moved toward cover. But he didn't run; he sauntered. Did you know rabbits were even capable of sauntering? He took a step, then a long hop, a few more steps and then kind of a full body stretch
Really, he didn't go more that three feet. He didn't even go under the forsythia bush; he just had a seat under a low hanging branch.
Then he just chilled some more. It was the most uncharacteristic behavior for a fluffy woodland creature that i've ever seen: he wasn't darting about, he wasn't rummaging for food, he wasn't even hiding.
Does this rabbit not KNOW that he is at the bottom of the food chain?
About 30 minutes later when i was leaving the house i drove by this bush. He was stretched out under it, just looking around. It looked for all the world like he was surveying his kingdom. I wish i was that chill.
3 comments:
Heck, we have a whole family of bunnies on the grounds at work, and they are regularly seen hanging out on the lawn, within spitting distance of two scary things: noisy kids, and both a bobcat and a canada lynx. The felines are caged (yet oddly, the kids aren't), but still, you'd think a 35 pound cat nearby might scare a rabbit on general principal. Think again.
Maybe it's cause they've got big! Nasty! Teeth!
-Frack
I'm convinced there's been a huge shift in bunny conciousness in the past few years. I've noticed all the bunnies I've met lately have been laid back and uncaring of possible danger. I've discussed this with others, and they agree. Something is definitely wrong. Bunny uprising? What would a world ruled by bunnies be like? Maybe we'd all be garden slaves, growing their favorite veggies.
BUNNIES...Ruling...the....WORLD! I'm up on that!
Post a Comment