# Rabbit Sitting in Our Yard **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 27, 2012, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabbit-sitting-in-our-yard/620113 "2012-04-27T11:41:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabbit-sitting-in-our-yard/620113/21 "2012-04-27T18:12:25Z")
> [@tim\_mcdonough](#): > > Each morning a rabbit comes to our side yard and sits like a statue for a couple of hours, then leaves. Same exact spot each day. I’m dying to know why. Your rabbit has developed a habit. He’s a habit rabbit 😛 ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabbit-sitting-in-our-yard/620113/22 "2012-04-27T19:00:19Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > Your rabbit has developed a habit. He’s a habit rabbit 😛 I came a hare close to making this joke. ---
**Author:** ![Doubticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@Doubticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doubticus)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabbit-sitting-in-our-yard/620113/23 "2012-04-27T19:39:06Z")
Do have any Trix cereal in your house? It’s been known to attract them. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabbit-sitting-in-our-yard/620113/24 "2012-04-27T19:49:20Z")
Can anyone else see this rabbit? ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabbit-sitting-in-our-yard/620113/25 "2012-04-27T19:55:12Z")
That rabbit’s dynamite! ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabbit-sitting-in-our-yard/620113/26 "2012-04-27T20:51:18Z")
It’s waiting for Kehaar. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabbit-sitting-in-our-yard/620113/27 "2012-04-27T21:02:52Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > He’s probably trying to tell you that in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds, the world will end. > [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Can anyone else see this rabbit? Meant together or independently, great posts. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabbit-sitting-in-our-yard/620113/28 "2012-04-27T21:07:05Z")
> [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](#): > > He wants you to kill and eat him. I get that vibe. Be vewy, vewy quiet. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabbit-sitting-in-our-yard/620113/29 "2012-04-27T21:29:55Z")
I used to have a rabbit that showed up in my yard (which I loved!), just to sit and stare. Not every day like yours, I’m too impatient to know if he was there for hours. But one day I came back into the yard, having seen him earlier and he was just lying down stretched out like a dog. Cool. Maybe he can feel your eyes on him, and it’s a defense thing to stay stock still? ---
**Author:** ![psiekier](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psiekier/32/116_2.png) [@psiekier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psiekier)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabbit-sitting-in-our-yard/620113/30 "2012-04-27T21:39:35Z")
In the spring-time, we play a game early in the morning (usually on the way to school) and late in the evening (if we’ve been out for the day) where we try to spot as many rabbits as we can on the grass in our neighborhood while traveling to or from our home. I think the record sighting has been nine, but most days we’re lucky if we see two or three. I’ve even pulled the car over to take [a picture](http://www.peteandkellie.com/images/alex_archive/alexander2461_wild_nibbler.jpg) a few times when I’ve had the camera on me. > [@tim\_mcdonough](#): > > Each morning a rabbit comes to our side yard and sits like a statue for a couple of hours, then leaves. Same exact spot each day. I’m dying to know why. It could be that he’s learned that’s a pretty safe spot to observe his surroundings. Perhaps when you’re _not_ looking, he nibbles on nearby greenery. At the sound of your approach (yes, he _can_ hear you - what do you think those ears are for?), he’s probably sticking his head up and standing extra-still for two reasons: first, to figure out where you are in relation to him, just in case he needs to make a break for it; and second, trying to look as much like a feature of the landscape as possible in the hope that you will ignore him and find more readily-detectable prey. We have three pet rabbits at home. The larger rabbits (a [Flemish Giant](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flemish_Giant) and a mutt that looks like a cross between a Flemish and maybe an [American Chinchilla](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinchilla_rabbit#American_Chinchilla)) do on occasion flop down and sleep even when people are around. The third rabbit, a [Polish](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_rabbit), is _very_ nervous. Even though you’d think he should have figured out by now that the giant stalking predator who smells like Daddy brings only food, water, treats, and affection, he nonetheless perks up, runs, and hides in his little house when he hears me coming. It’s only in the last six months or so that he’d even eat from his pellet bowl in my presence, and _still_ isn’t fond of being hand-fed treats like other two. The point of my story is that little rabbits - I’m guessing the one you’re describing probably falls into that category - seem to be _extraordinarily_ focused on self-preservation. They run, they hide, they stand perfectly still; whatever it takes to make sure the sharp-toothed carnivores of the world don’t gobble them. Only big domestic rabbits used to the presence of people have that bred out of them. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabbit-sitting-in-our-yard/620113/31 "2012-04-27T21:47:05Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I am amazed, and stand corrected. The species of rabbit found in the UK does not nest out in the open- UK hares, on the other hand, do. Maybe it’s just a decoy rabbit- have you checked if other rabbits are thieving stuff out of your house while you’re watching? ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabbit-sitting-in-our-yard/620113/32 "2012-04-27T22:03:07Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > Be vewy, vewy quiet. No, it’s duck season. ---
**Author:** ![steveo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@steveo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steveo1)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabbit-sitting-in-our-yard/620113/33 "2012-04-28T06:03:01Z")
Has anyone considered the possiblity that this could be a schizophrenic rabbit? (A quazy wabbit.) He’s probably standing still like that because he’s experiencing internal stimuli, you know, hearing voices. But then, rabbits don’t talk, which begs the question: What do schizophrenic rabbits hear in their heads? I’m not sure they make any sound at all. I don’t even think they have voice boxes! This is getting freaking existential. Why don’t you just shoot the damn thing. He’d be hard to miss. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabbit-sitting-in-our-yard/620113/34 "2012-04-28T06:36:17Z")
Rabbits can’t sit still for that long around my house or they become ex-rabbits. ---
**Author:** ![Clark\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@Clark\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_K)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabbit-sitting-in-our-yard/620113/35 "2012-04-28T07:32:07Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > He’s probably trying to tell you that in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds, the world will end. Sorry, but I don’t get it. Can you explain for the dim-witted among us? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabbit-sitting-in-our-yard/620113/36 "2012-04-28T07:57:01Z")
> [@Clark\_K](#): > > Sorry, but I don’t get it. Can you explain for the dim-witted among us? [Donnie Darko](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donnie_Darko). The other post has a dose of [Harvey](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_%28movie%29). ---
**Author:** ![Whammo72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/77aa72/32.png) [@Whammo72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whammo72)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2012, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabbit-sitting-in-our-yard/620113/37 "2012-04-29T23:50:42Z")
Whatever you do, do NOT stick a shotgun barrel down it hole! ---
**Author:** ![psiekier](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psiekier/32/116_2.png) [@psiekier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psiekier)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabbit-sitting-in-our-yard/620113/38 "2012-04-30T14:18:46Z")
> [@steveo1](#): > > What do schizophrenic rabbits hear in their heads? I’m not sure they make any sound at all. I don’t even think they have voice boxes! Be glad you’ve never heard a rabbit scream. It’s _very_ unnerving - high-pitched, like you might imagine coming from a little girl. When my wife and I lived in a small apartment in uptown Dallas, I heard this terrible screech one morning as I was drying my hair. Turns out our Flemish Giant didn’t appreciate the sound of both the hair drier and the microwave going at the same time. I thought maybe we had set off a smoke alarm or something, but it didn’t take long to figure out where the sound was coming from. We had pretty much rabbit-proofed the apartment by blocking off convenient access paths and wrapping electrical cords in vinyl tubing. Despite our countermeasures, Emily sneaked behind the couch where I couldn’t see her and nibbled into the DSL line. That was the _second_ time I heard a rabbit scream. Instead of learning her lesson, though, she proceeded to find a different section of the wire and resumed nibbling; luckily, I found her and pulled her out before she could hurt herself again. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabbit-sitting-in-our-yard/620113/39 "2012-04-30T15:36:18Z")
> [@psiekier](#): > > Be glad you’ve never heard a rabbit scream. It’s _very_ unnerving - high-pitched, like you might imagine coming from a little girl. Yeah, it’s not pleasant. A childhood friend of the family lived in the boonies and their kids raised rabbits for food. We were camping in their woods on night and decided to make a fire and have rabbit for dinner. Hearing those suckers scream made eating them difficult. The other kids were used to it but I’m a suburban kid – for me meat came plastic wrapped from the grocery store. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabbit-sitting-in-our-yard/620113/40 "2012-04-30T17:04:16Z")
> [@psiekier](#): > > Be glad you’ve never heard a rabbit scream. I bet you still wake up in the dark to the awful screaming of the rabbits. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabbit-sitting-in-our-yard/620113.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabbit-sitting-in-our-yard/620113.md?page=3)