We have a little triangular piece of green space here in downtown St. Paul, directly adjacent to what's got to be the world's ugliest parking ramp (I mean, look at it).
The one saving grace of the parking ramp is it blocks the view of two even more hideous apartment buildings. Of course none of this matters to the bunnies.
And it's real yummy grass, and nearby there's trees and shrubs for shelter.
The shrubs behind the bus stop are particularly unkempt, and I've always thought that must be where their burrow is.
I really admire these urban bunnies. I've seen at least two persons lying face down in that grass with their hands behind their head, and wasn't by choice.
I wouldn't want to be on those streets night after night, and I can take care of myself. Bunnies can only run, but perhaps running is the quintessential urban survival skill.
What do I know, looking down from a deluxe apartment in the sky.
Like all such rare pieces of open area, it became the staging ground for a nearby construction project. In order to do this, most of the grass had to be torn up. Only a small patch of grass was left, but between that grass and the diversity of weeds that popped up
under the construction trailer, the bunnies seemed to be doing okay.
When I decided to write about this I thought I should go down and take a few pictures of the rabbits. This wasn't so easy. Yes you can walk right by them about 10 feet away and they pay no attention to you whatsoever,
but if you stop and turn towards them or take a step closer aiming some weird device at them, they get fidgety and put some space in between you and them. So these are the best pictures I have of the adults.
The buck is pretty cocky and likes to lounge in the cool grass in the evening hours.
The doe -- don't ask me how I know the difference I just do -- has one ear torn lengthwise from the base all the way out to the tip, and it doesn't stand up anymore. She's a bit more skittish than the buck, and somehow I'm not surprised.
My pet theory is she was running from something and dived under the chain-link fence which caught in her ear, and having the fear of dog and her she didn't stop to think "Ow!"
About a week before Janie and I left on vacation, we
noticed that the construction project was wrapping up
and they were pulling the trailers away.
They brought in some equipment
to level off the site,
and as part of all this they tore up
the little corner of grass
to make room for new sod.
But, but, what about the bunnies?
What are the bunnies going to eat?
Stay tuned for part two .
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Comments: 17
Nancy, it's not the sod that worried me so much as the orange paint they were spraying on the grass before they tore it up. I thought "I hope that's non-toxic. Don't eat orange grass, buddy!"
Does anybody besides me remember what "tharn" means?
Urban bunnies are amazing little critters. Eastern cottontails rabbits don't live very long, because they are every predator's favorite lunch and because the males in particular will fight for territory and injur one another. If a bunny makes it past babyhood they can expect to live 1-3 years. One of the reasons behindr the success of urban rabbits is the lack of predators downtown, but the limited food supply checks their population growth. Eastern cottontail rabbits are "crepuscular", meaning that thier most active time of day is around sunrise and sunset. Unlike European rabbits, which live in groups in "warrens", our bunnies do not burrow and live alone. Cottontails spend much of their time in their "form", a hollow area scratched in the earth, usually beneath dense undergrowth or shrubbery. They do not hibernate in the winter and may starve, especially if an ice storm blocks access to food beneath the snow. They like birdseed, sunflower seeds, apples, bananas, carrots & carrot tops, parsley, cilantro, dandelions, clover, and a whole host of processed human foods made from grains. If you are concerned about their welfare bring them some timothy hay (from your local pet store) and other treats and leave them near the shrubs. Bunnies poop a lot because their food contains little nutrition value, so a large portion of their diet is waste. And that's probably more than you ever wanted to know about our rabbits.
The only way to tell the difference between a buck and a doe is to examine their bottoms *very* carefully...
(how do I know all this, you ask? I used to have a Netherland Dwarf house rabbit. When he died my husband forbade me to get another bunny, so I started volunteering at the Wildlife Rehab Center in Roseville, MN. I am a crew leader in the mammal nursery there, which involves formula feeding tiny little bunnies. They are the most adorable animals you can imagine, but difficult to feed because they are so very frightened when they first arrive. and they are not half so clever as baby squirrels. But that's another lesson.)
Auntie, wow. Just when I was feeling my post wasn't interesting enough you bring in this wonderful information! This is the sort of exchange I think Gather hoped for when going on line. This is great. I'll post the next installment soon.
Great story, Ron!
Auntie you added some great points to this article thank you!
Thanks Pam. Yes, weren't Auntie's comments, well, full of content?