Help! Is this a wild bun?

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 14sd replies, 11 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 11 months ago by Bam.

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- 05/09/2013 at 12:29 PM
  SirThumpsey
  Participant
  539 posts
  A friend of mine found this bunny outside. It looks very young. Hopefully, it doesn’t violate any policies but it’s very important to know if this little guy (gal?) is a wild bun so I can help my friend take care of it properly.
  
  My first thought was Harlequin but thought it could be an agouti/wild bun.
- 05/09/2013 at 12:32 PM
  tanlover14
  Participant
  3617 posts
  Oh no. It looks wild to me.
  
  Hopefully she didn’t find/take it out of where the mother was hiding it
- 05/09/2013 at 12:42 PM
  MoveDiagonally
  Participant
  2361 posts
  I second tanlover. Looks like a wild cottontail baby bun to me.
  
  I would contact a wildlife rehab and talk to them. They can help you identify him as a wild bun for sure and assist in proper/safe release.
  
  Edit: Oh! Yes definitely do as Sam and Lady’s Human says if you can and get him back to his momma.
- 05/09/2013 at 12:51 PM
  Sam and Lady's Human
  Participant
  2001 posts
  Its a cottontail. Put it back where you found it, with a cardboard boxwith a cutout, /hay/grass cuttings etc, and leave it alone. Mama will come back.
- 05/09/2013 at 1:27 PM
  Lis
  Participant
  439 posts
  My neighbor’s kids at my old house caught a whole nest one time, and every one was identical to this little guy. Put him back, as others have instructed. Bunny moms only spend about 5 minutes or less a day with their babies.
- 05/09/2013 at 1:27 PM
  Sarita
  Participant
  18851 posts
  Yes, cottontail – if it’s eyes are open though it is fine to be on it’s own but it would be best to take it back where it was found. If you do release a wild rabbit though there are certain conditions (which I do not know) that it needs to be released so that it has the best chance of survival which is why contacting a rehabber is the best idea.
- 05/09/2013 at 1:29 PM
  Sarita
  Participant
  18851 posts
  If his eyes are open he is eating on his own which is good.
- 05/09/2013 at 3:26 PM
  LittlePuffyTail
  Moderator
  18092 posts
  The white spot is a giveaway. What a cutie. I hope he makes out okay in the wild.
- 05/09/2013 at 4:10 PM
  tobyluv
  Participant
  3310 posts
  I agree that is a wild rabbit, and should be returned to the area where it was found. If that was in someone’s yard, please tell them to keep any dogs or cats inside, until the bunny can grow and hopefully acquire the survival skills it needs.
- 05/09/2013 at 6:08 PM
  Stickerbunny
  Participant
  4128 posts
  Yep, wild bunny. It looks old enough to be released on its own, but it’s always best to put them back to where they were found since the burrow is probably somewhere near. Rehabbers in my area where I grew up didn’t like to take them in, because they were fine to be out on their own even though they look too young. But, you can call and ask if one would take it off your hands.
- 05/10/2013 at 12:14 PM
  NewBunnyOwner123
  Participant
  1930 posts
  This always frustrates me when people pick up wild life like this. I’d go put the baby back where it was found. At least it’s old enough to have its eyes open. It was probably on its first adventure.
- 05/10/2013 at 12:21 PM
  Stickerbunny
  Participant
  4128 posts
  Posted By NewBunnyOwner123 on 05/10/2013 12:14 PM
  This always frustrates me when people pick up wild life like this. I’d go put the baby back where it was found. At least it’s old enough to have its eyes open. It was probably on its first adventure.
  
  In some cases, it is to save the buns life. We had to take one out of our yard when I was a kid because we had dogs and cats and it was about to be eaten. We locked all the animals up and let it go and came back out to check on it several hours later and it was just sitting where we had put it, it hadn’t moved at all. So, our options were to let it be eaten by our animals, or take it to a rehabber.
- 05/11/2013 at 12:44 PM
  NewBunnyOwner123
  Participant
  1930 posts
  Just yesterday while we were geocaching my friend saw a baby cottontail and I had to stop her from picking it up trying to “rescue” it. *sigh*
- 05/13/2013 at 10:34 AM
  SirThumpsey
  Participant
  539 posts
  My friend said she put it right back but I don’t know. Sorry for the late response…been working late these last couple days. I did tell her o thought it was a wild bun. Yesterday I saw three buns outside of work playing and I watched them for awhile and after seeing the picture again I was pretty convinced but thought I’d check what you guys had said. Thanks everyone for your responses. It was a big help!
- 05/13/2013 at 11:11 AM
  Bam
  Moderator
  16870 posts
  When I was working at the hospital years ago we had lots of scientists from other parts of the world in our department. One day a Chinese scientist contacted my boss and told him he’d found somebody’s pet near his digs but he hadn’t been able to locate its owner. He asked if we could help. He had brought the pet with him to work in a cardboard box, and we were all rather surprised when we realized that the “pet” was a full-grown hedge-hog. The scientist hadn’t thought of giving it water but he had given the poor animal a carrot to eat.
  
  We gave the hedge-hog water and released it, of course.
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