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Catching a loose bunny

sillyrabbit

Wise Old Thumper
Yesterday on the way to daycare I saw a woman feeding a beautiful grey lion head like out in the street. Was kinda like do you need help catching your bunny and she said it’s just a neighbourhood bunny that has been loose since the winter. Apparently the entire street have been putting out food etc for months, they don’t know who the owners were or if bunny escaped or was set loose intentionally.

So I went back last night and couldn’t see them, this morning I walked that way again and saw the bunny, I left some food and greens soaked in water and tried to see how confident the bunny is, they were kind of skittish but clearly used to ppl bringing food. Didn’t run away when dog walkers passed by either. When I came back past after dropping my little one at daycare the bunny was gone.

I have emailed our local animal rescue and asked if they are aware of the bunny, or know if any missing bunnies have been reported in the area. I’m shocked that an entire street full of people are apparently aware of them and yet bunny is still out there. I’ve spoken to three separate residents now who have said the bunny has been out for a long time. We have foxes, coyotes, lynx, bobcats, bears, eagles and I don’t even know what else in the area. I can’t even begin to imagine how this bunny has survived since winter, they must have a safe shelter somewhere, especially to survive the winter weather.

I don’t even know how to go about catching the bunny, honestly I’m at a loss where to even start. The bunny seems to be hanging about in a small bush/tree area in the middle of the street consistently, it’s such an open space. I’m guessing a carrier with food might be the best place to start. I just don’t know!
 
There used to be an escaped(?) domestic rabbit near me which lived on banking between the fields and a main road for a couple of years. It apparently bred with the wild rabbits, although I never saw any notably different offspring. It disappeared a few months into the Covid lockdown, but there were more foxes around at that time as there were no people out. Rabbits that are loose like this can be very hard to catch. If there's a local cat (or other animal) rescue, they may have capture crates which they could loan out - but they have to be checked on every few hours. Otherwise, a concerted effort by a group of people with a portable fence (eg loads of puppy panels) may be able to corner the rabbit - but could equally scare it off. Feeding it in an enclosed space which can later be closed off may be an option (dog crate?), but it needs someone to watch out that predators don't get the rabbit first.
 
There are some loose bunnies in a forest I go to sometimes. These are not your average wild looking bunnies. I saw pure black bunnies but then somebody pointed out to me that you do get wild black bunnies but then I saw other colors like ginger, white and other colors. They look just like pet rabbits that have been breeding and surviving in the wild possibly breeding with the wild rabbits. They are not tame and very fast on there feet.
 
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