Question: Do rabbits mourn?

This is my current situation:

Lola lost Ralph 2 weeks ago, very unexpectedly, under the GA for a dental. Her previous is that she lost Walter 6 months previously after a longer battle with obstruction, he died from post op seizures. I got Ralph very quickly (she went in for bonding about 5 days after she lost Walter), because it was very apparent she was pining and her appetite decreased.

She was ok at first when Ralph died, but her appetite dropped a lot and she has spent most of the week back and forth from the vets. Her vet has said her tummy has felt fine since Tuesday, nice and soft, no pain, no signs of obstruction, caecum lovely and normal, teeth been checked under GA and they are normal. I have been syringing her water, recovery food, and all her meds.

The vet feels she is stressed and mourning, rather than a GI problem, she is pooing small amounts, she eats a little banana and a little basil and thats it!!

The vet wanted to know other vets views so she posted on a vet forum.

But I appreciate a lot of people here have a great deal of experience and I would be interested in others views, on whether rabbits do mourn, and what I can do to help her? (Apart from getting her a friend, which I want to do soonish!)

Over the years a lot of my rabbits have lost their friend but there was only one who really went to pieces after losing his wifebun. Most get over the loss very well, never stop eating, might look a bit lost for a few days but generally they are behaving normally in a very short time. We just lost Dillon, Blossom's husbun, and she gave me a few funny looks the first and second day but still she ate as normal. They were very close as well. Perhaps it's harder if the bereaved bun is the only rabbit left, in my case there are lots of others around which may help the one who has lost their friend.

Sorry you lost Ralph hun *hugs*

They definitely mourn as heart breakingly they form very strong bonds. My boy lost his wifebun in March, it's now been almost 3 months and I actually came here to read up on others experiences.

After Oscar lost Charlie he was very depressed, he stayed very close to us lying down constantly in the same spot by the bed looking very sad (we set up camp on the lounge floor for a month to be close to him). Thankfully he didn't stop eating. We got in lots of treats and variation to keep him occupied and cheer him up such as apples, carrots, parsley, Kale, Spinach, sunflower seeds. After 1 month we rescued Eva and they bonded very quickly and easily. They are very close but it's obvious their bond is not yet near as strong as Oscars previous bond. 3 months later he's perked up considerably but he's not the same bright and bubbly boy he was before, he still seems like he's missing Charlie, it's all in his eyes, before bright and not a care in the world, and now a little dulled and thoughtful. He gets loads of love and fuss from us and Eva and I'm so glad he has her

The whole thing has been a nightmare but you just have to do your best for them, comfort them and let them know you understand, getting a new mate is essential imo, also try to avoid leaving them alone at all while they're grieving, rabbits get lonely very quickly it's just not in their nature to be alone..