Happy Hopping
Wise Old Thumper
is hare = cotton tail?
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There is a little baby wild rabbit in my back yard, what is there to do?
- Thread starter Happy Hopping
- Start date
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hare
No, different species. Hares are longer and quite regal.
They also do not live in groups but mostly on their own. They have 1-3(max) babies which are born fully developed (eyes open and with fur). The baby will seek cover close to where it was born and wait for the mother to come and breast feed it (usually once a day).
Hares are loyal to their territory.
They are quite rare.
No, different species. Hares are longer and quite regal.
They also do not live in groups but mostly on their own. They have 1-3(max) babies which are born fully developed (eyes open and with fur). The baby will seek cover close to where it was born and wait for the mother to come and breast feed it (usually once a day).
Hares are loyal to their territory.
They are quite rare.
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Happy Hopping
Wise Old Thumper
how old is this little baby? Because I want to know how long has he been living here
how old is this little baby? Because I want to know how long has he been living here
Do not touch it under any circumstances cos the mother will stop feeding it.
If you are around the baby too much the mother will also feel disturb. The picture looks like you got very close to the baby.
The only thing you can do is make sure there are no cats, dogs or other predators in your garden. Hares are very good at looking after their young. The babies will stay in binding ( usually in the same spot) until the mother comes to feed it, usually once in 24 Mrs for a couple of minutes.
All looks fine, just leave the mother to get on with her job.
Don't get too close cos that can scare the mother off as well.
Baby hares are born with fur and eyes open from the moment they are born they are born they stay in hiding and their mother will come usually once in 24hrs to breast feed it for a couple of minutes. You will never see her cos she will not come as long as you are around or your scent is fresh..
As long as you are around the baby is not going to get fed!
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Happy Hopping
Wise Old Thumper
but how does the mother knows I was ever there in the first place? I'm trying to gauge how old this little 1 is. Are we talking about 1 week old, a mth. old, a few mth. old?
Hares have got fantastic sense of smell. She will smell your presence even for hours after you have been there.
Baby hares also unlike rabbit and cotton tails do not run when discovered, they will just press their bodies do the ground and hide.
Like I said do not go near the baby, the only thing you can do is keep any cats, dogs or other predators out of your garden.
In 4 weeks time the baby will look like a proper hare and will move around your garden a lot during the day. Until then you need to be patient.
What difference does it make how old the baby is, all is fine just let the mother take care of it.
Baby hares also unlike rabbit and cotton tails do not run when discovered, they will just press their bodies do the ground and hide.
Like I said do not go near the baby, the only thing you can do is keep any cats, dogs or other predators out of your garden.
In 4 weeks time the baby will look like a proper hare and will move around your garden a lot during the day. Until then you need to be patient.
What difference does it make how old the baby is, all is fine just let the mother take care of it.
Fifibutton
Wise Old Thumper
I would say the baby is a hare too and estimate it is between 2 and 4 weeks old. Hoppla has given you some great advice which I support. The mother hare will smell human scent around her baby and this may cause her to abandon it so just be mindful of the leveret (baby hare) in your garden, leave the grass long for now and make sure there are no other threats like predators, weedkiller, rat poison and so on.
Happy Hopping
Wise Old Thumper
why is there only 1 rabbit? If the mother is coming to feed the bun, early in the morning and late at night, shouldn't there be more than 1 bun?
It's quite heavy rain in the past 2 days, I did use the zoom lens to take those 2 photos, but I step on the ground that is wet (not cover by my the edge of my garage), and that was 5 pm or so, the rain should wash everything away by the time the mother rabbit arrives.
By the way, I do a google search on "cotton tail" images, its fur color resemble a cotton tail
It's quite heavy rain in the past 2 days, I did use the zoom lens to take those 2 photos, but I step on the ground that is wet (not cover by my the edge of my garage), and that was 5 pm or so, the rain should wash everything away by the time the mother rabbit arrives.
By the way, I do a google search on "cotton tail" images, its fur color resemble a cotton tail
Fifibutton
Wise Old Thumper
Some hares only have one baby. If it is a cotton tail perhaps it is the only survivor, maybe the other kits were killed or died of illness. I think you should watch for the mother and try to ascertain if she is caring for her baby. If she is not coming then you may have to ask a wildlife charity to intervene.
Happy Hopping
Wise Old Thumper
I actually did see a big rabbit trying to hop over to my side of the road (the back alley) last night, but a car is driving towards it, so the rabbit hop back. It may not be that mom rabbit, as there are some rabbit hop around in the back alley, there is no way to tell.
But if I check it daily, then there is my scent in that area, so what would you do?
But if I check it daily, then there is my scent in that area, so what would you do?
I would not check that mum is feeding it, because there is no way to check without getting close and possibly touching it. If it is a hare (I don't know as your rabbit species and maybe your hare species are different to ours) it is incredibly important that you leave it alone.
You won't see the mum feeding it, because it won't do so if you are nearby. Some dogs can follow a scent that is a week old, so it stands to reason that a hare would be able to smell it for quite a while afterwards. Their sense of hearing is also fantastic. The best thing to do is to leave it well alone and not go near it at all.
You also don't want the baby to become too used to humans, he is a wild animal and needs to retain a fear of humans to be able to survive in the wild.
You won't see the mum feeding it, because it won't do so if you are nearby. Some dogs can follow a scent that is a week old, so it stands to reason that a hare would be able to smell it for quite a while afterwards. Their sense of hearing is also fantastic. The best thing to do is to leave it well alone and not go near it at all.
You also don't want the baby to become too used to humans, he is a wild animal and needs to retain a fear of humans to be able to survive in the wild.
