Backyard Bunny Drama

Every spring I see baby bunnies but the core family of about five rabbits stays the same. I can only assume that the babies grow up and move away to other locations.

This year it’s a bit different. For about a week, I’ve noticed a baby bun as small as my hand, hiding under lavender bushes or in the plants around the deck. He was one of the bunnies who was eating an apple that got stolen by that horribly disgusting rat.

A couple days ago I accidentally got him wet as I was watering and he ran right by me so I got a good look. There seemed to be a wound of some sort on top of his head, not actively bleeding, but if I had a guess, it has the appearance of talons or claws. Maybe a hawk or owl grabbed it but for some reason, didn’t fly away with dinner. These wounds weren’t there when I had previously seen him.

I called Project Wildlife to find out if there’s anything I should do or could do for this little guy. They advised me to monitor the bun for a day or so to see if the wound looked better or worse or if the bun seemed less mobile and in distress. If so, they told me to put him in a box and bring to their location.

It makes me very sad to see any injured animal, and I want to do what I can to help. I put a few pieces of garden lettuce in the place I’ve most often seen this bun. A few minutes later, they were gone. I put more out with other veggies like small carrots and red pepper slices, and watched him eat those, too.

I’ve been moving closer and closer. He’s becoming more comfortable with my presence which is great because I want to cause the least amount of trauma if I have to throw a towel over him to put in a box lined with soft t-shirts.

So far, so good. As long as he eats and still runs around, I will continue to monitor him today, and think about bringing him to Project Wildlife tomorrow.

Here’s a photo of the little one with two separate head wounds. Doesn’t it look like he was grabbed by something?