Discovering a Warren of Baby Rabbits in the Backyard, Frankfort, IL
In Frankfort, while visiting Bob and Julie… Liz and I got to see something pretty cool. Out in the backyard, Julie showed us a small patch of ground by one of her bushes.
There was a small bit of ground that was pulsing a little, moving around every so often. I didn’t know what was going on, but Liz (with a lot of hesitation) started to peel back the ground a little bit… and this is what we saw:
A warren of baby bunnies! For some reason, I initially thought they were squirrels, as I couldn’t really see anything other than a mass of fur. But after one or two of those guys started moving around, I saw a few legs and a few bunny ears.
We were very careful not to touch them, for fear that if we got our scent on the rabbits… the mom might not take care of them. But after watching them shiver in the cold for a bit, we tucked the ground back down and let them be.
The video doesn’t really do this justice – I’m not sure how many guys were tucked in that small patch of ground, but they were really packed in there. With the weather getting warmer now, I’m sure those guys will be out and about in the next few days.
Related:
The Bunny Rabbits of Logan Square
Baxter and Quincy Explore the Outdoors for the First Time
A Warren of Rabbits: Artwork by Ian Rogers
My heart asplodes.
Ian (May 14, 2013 at 9:57 am)It was definitely an adorable sight to behold. I was really surprised at how they were literally *right there*, not too far below the surface. They were shivering from the cold breeze when we pulled the cover aside, and it took a lot of self-control to not reach in and pick one of the little guys up.
avoision (May 14, 2013 at 2:08 pm)Interestingly, while it’s usually not true that an animal will abandon its offspring if a nest is disturbed, rabbits are one of the few species that will do so. Your self-control was definitely warranted here.
The video really does shove the “cute” button in so hard that it almost snaps out the back of the panel!
George Dainis (May 14, 2013 at 4:54 pm)Thanks George – good to know! The one positive thing was that if we had somehow (unintentionally) disturbed the nest… the rabbits looked to be big enough to strike out on their own, very soon.
And true enough, I found out last night from my mother in law that the bunnies have left the nest and are out and about, on their own. And according to her, they “are probably busy now eating my flowers.”
avoision (May 15, 2013 at 6:42 am)