A little Wiggle

[LittlePuffyTail]

Olivia has started doing something I’ve never seen before and am totally baffled by it. Some nights, she’s really enjoying her out time and puts up a fuss when I try to catch her to go home to bed.  Sometimes, I swear she’s making a game of me trying to catch her and outsmarting me. And she started wiggling her little tail as she runs away. Just like a dog. It’s really funny but I wonder what it means. Anyone else’s buns ever do this?

[Beka27]

i’ve seen that before. they have individual bones in their tails, so i suppose it’s def. possible for them to wag it.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Seen it alot…Here’s my theory on it.

Wild rabbits have a white tail and dark bodies (much like deer)…if they are being chased they’ll raise their tail and wiggle it to get the predator to focus on the tail, then when they run, they’ll drop the tail so the white isn’t showing and run in a different direction…It’s to make the predator lose them…
So my theory is they’re instinctively wiggling it so they can stay out.

However I’ve also seen them wiggle it when they’re being naughty too!

[jerseygirl]

That sounds really cute! A new tactic you think? I remember there was a thread about wagging tails earlier in the year.

[BinkyBunny]

KK – Very interesting! That makes total sense!    You should send that explanation to the the “Language of Lagomorphs” site as the tail wag is still noted as a bit of a mystery there.

Jack will also do this wiggle right before he wants to spray poor Rucy….Poor Rucy. He’s so rude with his affections and how he “claims” her.

 

EDITED:  I found the Tail Wag explanation on the rabbitspeak.com, but it was difficult to find -  click on “Sign-Off”, then click on a little tiny link that says Mysterious Rabbit Behaviors, then you scroll down.    I  copied and pasted it for convenience. 

SOURCE: http://language.rabbitspeak.com/ (but unfortunately there is no URL that goes directly to the page I’m talking about so you would have to go through the link trains I just wrote above)
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Tail Wag

Susan R. posted to the guestbook about a “lateral tail wag.” She wrote,

I’ve seen several of my rabbits do this (a side to side move of a relaxed tail) as they hop away from another bun. This is usually after Bun #1 (the wagger) sniffs Bun #2. Sometimes a slight head binkie from Bun #1 is involved. From the expressions of the wagging buns, it seems that wagging may be similar to a “foot flick” or may be a sign of mild annoyance.

I’ve seen it a few times now in our own rabbits (addressed to me!) and I’m pretty sure she’s got the meaning exactly right. It’s a milder put down than the foot flick, but definitely seems to have a related meaning. It’s just amazing how one can totally miss some of these signals, but once you know to watch for them they become all but obvious.

Some folks on the alt.pets.rabbits newsgroup have reported that the tail wag is a happy signal. Reading Susan’s description of the circumstances above certainly can lend itself to that interpretation too, but I admit it didn’t appear that way the couple of times I’ve seen it. I think the closest human signal might be sticking your tongue out as a mild mocking gesture.

This one needs more study

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There are more interesting “mysterious behaviors” posted there -  fun to read.

[Balefulregards]

I think it is a mild mocking gesture – Coco does this when we are playing – And I know we are playing because SHE initiates the “Chase me” game by running at me, stopping and then whipping around.

It is then that I see the tail wag. Followed by coming back at me and doing the dance to chase her more…

After reading the above, I wonder if it is a residual reaction to being a prey animal – a kind of “I’m so excited, I’m terrified” kind of signal left over from truly needing the adrenaline to get away from something which would like to eat them….to now living with doting humans who play “chase me” with them.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Well that makes sense. I sort of assumed it was a “haha, here I go, you can’t catch me” sort of gesture. The little brat! Sticking her tongue out at me bunny-style!!!! That’s so Olivia.

[MimzMum]

lolz…Fiver does this and I don’t necessarily need to chase him to catch him. Usually a veggie cookie gets him back in his pen like lightning. ^_^

I see it when he comes out for his nightly binkies. He’ll be slowly hopping around on the bed, checking stuff out to see if I’ve moved anything and when he catches me looking at him, the tail will wiggle just a bit and he looks away and moves on. It reminds me of “Oh..hai…I was just…you know…pokin’ around…kthxbai!” xD

[Sage Cat]

Oh, I get the “ha ha, here I go, you can’t catch me” tail wag from Kay on a regular basis!

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