Wild Baby Rabbit: Odd situation

[BunnyDuck]

At about 3pm yesterday my husband came into the house asking where my camera was because there was a baby bunny running around outside. (I’m going to say this bunny is a girl, because I don’t like to use the word it). Of course I went outside to check out the little bunny. We got a few pictures, we didn’t touch her or anything but she didn’t run away. Afterwards I sat in a chair and just watched her then she came running up to me and ran under my chair to the otherside of the patio. I then went and sat on the ground near her and she came running up towards me again, stayed near me for about 30 seconds, then ran off into the Ivy. Me and my husband went back inside to see if the bunny would leave.

Three hours later I went back outside thinking the baby would of gone, but she was still sitting on the patio and shaking. I sat on the ground again and the bunny came up to me and starting snuggling with me. She went up my pants, which was awkward trying to get her back out! After she jumped in my hand and she stopped shaking. After about 30 minutes of being out there with her, I went back inside and checked on her every so often. When it got dark she was still on the patio. So after some talking we decided to bring her in for the night, as we didn’t want her to get attacked by something. I put her in a carrier, with some lettuce, hay and water, and kept her in a different room to my three bunnies. I know that the usual advice is if you see baby bunnies outside is to leave them be, but this situation seemed so different as she kept on coming up to me and was still on the patio in the dark.

This morning I’ve taken her outside in the hopes of her leaving and finding her way back. I stayed outside for about 10 minutes and she ended up running up to me again and hiding in my pajama pants/trousers. I’ve left her outside as I’m typing this now, but she is still out there..

What do you think we should do?? I’m so confused right now.

This is the picture of the baby, I’d stay she’s about 2-3 weeks old, right? Also, is she definitely a wild rabbit? 

[Roberta]

Oh Dear, I think you have been chosen and I have no idea what to tell you..She’s a cutie and obviously likes human company… Weigh the pro’s and con’s and make the best choice you can.

[Roberta]

Those ears look a bit dwarfish to me… Maybe she is the product of a cotton tail domestic X.

[Beka27]

She is a wild bunny, most definitely. Wild baby bunnies (under 3-4 weeks old) have a white patch on their forehead ( called a “blaze”). This disappears as they get older. Once this white patch is no longer visible, it’s assumed that they are weaned and old enough to fend for themselves. So it’s quite likely that she’s over a month old and just hanging out. Enjoy her company while it lasts. Eventually, she’ll move on, or will become properly skittish.

[Sarita]

Well Cottontails cannot mix with domestics. She certainly looks like a cottontail but she does not have the white mark on her forehead….do you have a wildlife rehabber near you that you can have take a look at her?

She’s adorable.

[Emandme]

She’s such a cutie! I read somewhere that wild rabbits have -quite- long ears – and they do look like small ears. I have been doing some research lately because after chatting with my sister in another province she mentioned that she had a wild rabbit living under her step. I was curious if it was wild or domestic so I started to try and figure out how I can tell the difference between wild and domestic rabbits.

Some of what I’ve read says (and of course take with a grain of salt – this is the internet and never completely rely on it!):

1- wild rabbits all have agouti colouring.
2- long ears and usually longer legs than domestics
3- wild rabbits will avoid humans at all costs – so if it starts to hang around you, its possible its domestic.

I have to agree with Sarita – someone with expertise should look at it. Maybe even a rabbit-savvy vet?

[Sarita]

Well Cottontails have smaller ears (the babies certainly do) – adults have normal size ears. Now I suppose it depends on what kind of cottontails too…I can only speak to the ones in my area, which I think is an Eastern Cottontail.

Jackrabbits have very large ears though even the babies and I’ve only seen a few baby Jackrabbits and this baby is not a Jackrabbit baby.

[BunnyDuck]

Thank you for all the replies.

She does have a little bit of a white spot on it’s head, it just cannot be seen in that picture. That was one of the things I looked for when she got close to me. Funny thing is one of my domesticated rabbits had that same white spot as a baby.  

The closest wildlife rehabber is over two hours away and the closest rabbit savvy vet is over an hour away. We don’t really have the funds for the fuel right now to get to those places and my husband is the only one that can drive and he’s been in a lot of pain lately and would be hard on him to drive that far.

She is still hanging around outside on the patio. I’ve put something out there for her to hide under because I don’t want a hawk to come down for her. She’s still running up to me and snuggling with me everytime I go out there. I’m still not really sure what to do.

[Sarita]

Well try not to snuggle back :~) She won’t survive if she has too much contact with you but I think the idea of a place for her to hide is a good idea if she even can understand the concept! If she is safe in your backyard though that’s probably a fine place for her to stay.

[BunnyDuck]

I know, it’s so hard not to snuggle back. Our back yard isn’t too safe, we see a lot of snakes and hawks fly by a lot. We also have a dog that had killed lizards, moles etc. I’ll have to take her (dog) outside on a leash for right now I guess. We don’t normally see rabbits up near our house as I think our dog would chase them off, we have seen them further down the road though.

[BunnyDuck]

I don’t see the baby bunny outside anymore, so hopefully she’s gone to find home. Although there is a lot of overgrown ivy and grass out there, so she could be hiding in there. I hope she stays safe as she is such a cutie. 🙂 Thank you for all the replies. I’ll let you all know if I see her again. 🙂

[Beka27]

I think a wildlife rehabber would wonder why you’re bringing a perfectly normal wild bunny to them. Lol…

I do hope she fares well and lives a long, happy wild bunny life. 🙂

[justwildbeat]

I can see why it’s hard to leave her alone, such a cutie~ Probably was looking for somewhere that’s safe and warm to stay (i.e. your pants lol). Even though she was unusually bold, both you and your husband didn’t present as a threat. I wouldn’t be surprised if you see her again now that she knows that your yard is a safe zone. Providing a hiding spot is okay, but try not to involve yourself more than that. I know I’d have a hard time resisting feeding her.

[Emandme]

I just googled images of wild rabbits in north america and I saw this pic – the twins to your little visitor.

http://www.alexandgregory.com/rabbits.html#Eastern_Cottontail_Rabbits

I totally learned some new information – but I’m definitely going to keep my mouth shut from here on out. I obviously shouldn’t be advising anyone, LOL!

[LittlePuffyTail]

Awww….what a cutie! I would have been very hard-pressed not to snuggle her! I hope she’s okay and has a long, happy wild bunny life.

[LBJ10]

Young rabbits often appear to have no fear of humans. It is pretty common. You will see them sitting there and sometimes you can go right up to them. Although it seems like they need help, they really should be left alone. Eventually they will realize they need to be scared of things.

I guess it’s sort of similar to when we have baby bunnies. They let you hold them and seem to like it. Then one day they decided being held isn’t a good thing.

[BunnyDuck]

I have some really sad news I’m afraid, that I’m really upset about. Little wild bunny passed away last night.

I was outside about 10pm last night and she came running up to me and sat with me again. I ended up putting fleece into a two exit holed cardboard box and I led her to it. Sadly sometime during the night she passed away in that box. My husband ended up calling her Thumper.

Maybe this was why she was getting so close to me.

Binky free Thumper.

[Sarita]

Oh that’s so sad – you may be right that she was sick and that is why she was getting close to you.

[Beka27]

Oh… poor bunny :o(

What a strange thing. I guess maybe you can take comfort in the fact that she was warm and snuggled when she passed…

[LittlePuffyTail]

((((Binky Free Little Wild Bun))))))

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