A wild rabbit has grown bold and has begun venturing into the rhino habitat at the Taronga Western Plains Zoo in New South Wales, Australia (400 km northwest of Sydney). The rabbit, called Robby, waits for the rhinos to eat their fill and then eats the seeds.
For more info: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1083776/Pictured-The-moment-2lb-rabbit-comes-face-face-2-ton-rhino.html
Once ranging throughout all the states of New England, the New England cottontail population has plummeted in recent years. Their range has dwindled by 75% and they can no longer be found in Vermont.
Researchers believe the decline is caused by the change in environment. New England cottontails thrive in young forests (forests 25 years old or less) that include a lot of shrubs and thickets. They also rely on interbreeding between cottontail populations in order to produce healthier, more genetically diverse offspring.
Unfortunately for New England cottontails, forests have been growing for 100 years after the decline of colonial agriculture in 1900, which means the shrubs and thickets have given way to trees. Furthermore, the landscape has been divided by housing development and roads, making it very difficult for the rabbit populations to mix.
For more info:
http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20081105-LIFE-811050355
http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/dfwcotontail.htm
A 56-foot red, fiberglass rabbit sculpture is set to be installed in the new terminal at Sacramento International Airport in 2011. At four stories high, the sculpture will tower over people as they pick up their luggage at baggage claim. It was designed by an artist/professor at Denver University.
For more information: http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=49812&catid=2
Back in December, I posted about the feral rabbit population explosion in the Canadian city of Kelowna, British Columbia. Since then, the city has gone back and forth on how to handle the problem. After complaints about the inhumane culling of the rabbits by use of air rifles, the city changed its approach. Currently the city has turned to trapping the feral bunnies, and then putting them up for adoption.
The Responsible Animal Care Society (TRACS), who has been active in saving the rabbits, has sponsored many fundraising events. Their latest is a benefit concert featuring Elvis impersonator D.R. Elvis happening on Saturday, November 1.
For more information: http://www.tracs-bc.ca/bunfund.html
In Madison, WI, a woman was alerted about an intruder in the house due to her pet rabbit’s thumping. The sound of the rabbit’s pounding woke her up, and she then saw the intruder and screamed. The man quickly exited through the apartment’s backdoor.
“The victim says she has a pet bunny that thumps its foot when someone is in, or around, her residence,” Madison police said in a report. “And it was the thumping of the bunny’s foot that woke her up, and enabled her to quickly scare off the intruder.”
For more info: http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2008/10/17/Rabbit_scares_off_burglar/UPI-86251224284050/
This pink, knitted bunny on the side of Colletto Fava mountain in northern Italy’s Piedmont region is so large, it can be seen from space via Google Earth. The outdoor art piece was created by the Viennese art collective Gelatin out of pink wool and straw. The sculpture is meant to be a hands-on exhibit; people are encouraged to climb on it and sit on it.
According to Gelatin group member Wolfgang Gantner, “It’s supposed to make you feel small, like Gulliver. You walk around it, and you can’t help but smile.”
For more information: Telegraph.co.uk
This past March marked National Vaccination Month where UK rabbit owners were offered a free dose of vaccine to protect their rabbits against the deadly disease myxomatosis. Vaccinations for myxomatosis should be administered every six months to provide continued immunity, so Intervet / Schering-Plough Animal Health are offering those pet owners who took part in the campaign in March to receive a second free dose this month.
Myxomatosis is a painful condition that is largely untreatable. For more information, visit:
As a follow up to my post, Pet Rabbits Affected by National Housing Crisis, here is a link to another article about the Sacramento SPCA and their influx of stray rabbits. This article includes a video that shows their facility and a lot of their available bunnies. I found the beginning of the video to be a little ominous… I think it was because of the black and white background and the choice of music. Plus, the rabbit they showed (from the shoulders up) had a really skinny neck and looked a little robotic. However, the rest of the video was very informative- it makes it very hard for people resist adopting one (or more) of these bunnies.
http://www.sacbee.com/204/story/1260700.html
How far would you go to help pet rabbits? The UK’s Andy Baker asked himself that question. His answer: 1000 feet straight down from the world’s highest suspension bridge, the Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado, using only a bungee cord.
His free fall jump will result in speeds up to 90 mph. But Baker is willing to take this plunge in order to help raise money for the Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund in the UK and the Colorado House Rabbit Society in the US.
The jump will occur as part of the Go Fast! Games on September 26.
You can support Baker using the following links:
Fundraising Page for the Rabbit Welfare Fund (UK)
Fundraising Page for the Colorado House Rabbit Society (US)
For more info:
http://www.bungybunny.com/
http://www.ahutchisnotenough.com/
http://www.leightonbuzzardonline.co.uk/news/Andy-plans-1000ft-bungee-jump.4489822.jp
http://www.coloradohrs.com/2008_Event.htm
Many people have fallen victim to the current housing crisis across America. Recent reports have shown that this devastation has largely affected the pet population as well.
Property inspectors and real estate brokers frequently discover animals tied up or locked in cages when they enter abandoned houses. People leave their pets behind for a variety of reasons. In some cases, they can’t afford to care for the animal or they’re moving into rental property or in with relatives where pets aren’t allowed. In turn, shelters all around the country have witnessed an increase in the number of abandoned animals needing their attention.
And while shelters and rescues generally take in a large number of rabbits, many are experiencing a bunny boom this year. At the Sacramento SPCA, they have taken in double the amount of rabbits as usual. According to Leslie Kirrene of the Sacramento SPCA, “We are getting bunnies coming in as strays and assuming they were let go by those who can no longer stay in their homes, and we are getting people who are looking for rentals who say they are having a hard time finding one where their bunnies can go with them.”
To help alleviate the overload, the Sacramento SPCA is offering rabbit adoptions at half price with free neutering/spaying until the end of September.
For more info:
http://www.my58.com/news/17472273/detail.html
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/jan/30/pets_abandoned_owners_are_hidden_victims_housing_c/
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