Did I kill a bunny?

[Nature's Call]

While taking my dog for a walk in the park, Queen (my dog) sniffed out a rabbit hole. I returned later, family and neighbours in tow, to snapped some couple pictures of the six cute baby bunnies therein.

One became brave enough (or scared enough) to bolt. My wife, concerned that nearby cats or hawks, would snatch the sprinter (and it would be our fault) had me catch the little guy and return him to the hole - which I did.

My neighbour immediately chastised me, saying "You've just killed these bunnies by touching them. The mother will abandon the nest and the babies because your scent is all over them." I'd heard this before, of course, but I don't see why momma would. What's the straight dope on my deadly scent?

[A.R. Cane]

Old wives tale. I suspect that this is a myth w/ roots in adults trying to discourage children from "adopting" wild critters.

[What Exit?]

To make you feel better:
http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/petcolumns/s...cle.cfm?id=339

Originally Posted by Dr. Whittington

"The belief that if you touch a baby animal the mother will abandon it is untrue. By the time we are seeing these babies out and about, the parents have a huge investment in them and will continue to care for them."

Jim

[Hombre]

Nature's Call: "Did I kill a bunny?

Not in my experience.

Once I was walking my dog in a clearing with on bush at it's center. My dog seem overly interested in the bush so I checked it out. There was a baby bunny there so I picked it up. Much squealing ensued (bravely, my dog fled).
I turned to see mommy bearing down on me. That's right... I was charged by a rabbit. Startled I dropped baby who was then 'herded' by mom to safety. Watching from a distance all seemed well.

[JKellyMap]

Originally Posted by Hombre

I turned to see mommy bearing down on me. That's right... I was charged by a rabbit.

[Monty Python] RUN AWAY!! [/Monty Python]

[What Exit?]

Originally Posted by JKellyMap

[Monty Python] RUN AWAY!! [/Monty Python]

He will need the Holy Hand Grenada of Antioch.

Remember to pull the pin and count to 5 no 3.

[What Exit?]

Originally Posted by JKellyMap

[Monty Python] RUN AWAY!! [/Monty Python]

He will need the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch.

Remember to pull the pin and count to 5 no 3.

[engineer_comp_geek]

We had bunnies in our yard a couple of years in a row. Mama bunny was pretty stupid for putting them in our yard, because we have dogs and the neighbor has dogs. In fact, we found out that the bunnies were there because our dog was "playing" with one of them. We scooped the rest of the bunnies back into the nest, and tried to keep our dogs away from them. No matter how many times we touched them or how many times the dogs went sniffing after them, mama bunny kept coming back to them. In fact, we watched her one night. She waited until we had scooped them all back into the nest, then once we were gone, she came up and fed them.

Sadly, though we managed to stop our dog from eating any more of them, the bunnies got eaten by other neighborhood pets.

[ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies]

I wouldn't worry too much, but there is a seed of truth in the old wives tale.

I think it is safe to say that foreign scent can certainly be a factor in the chances that a baby animal will be accepted by his/her mother/father/herd.

But it is certainly not the only factor. Species, behavior, degree/type of scent tampering, age of the animal, among other things, will also be at play in the situation.

Anecdotaly, sheep sometimes have a problem recognizing and accepting lambs that have been sufficiently sullied. My hunch is that herding animals might have more of an issue with it than others.

[Larry Mudd]

Originally Posted by honeydewgrrl

Anecdotaly, sheep sometimes have a problem recognizing and accepting lambs that have been sufficiently sullied.

*glares at Hal Briston*