On Easter Sunday, I was taking the train from Prague down to Vienna. Iglanced out the window during one kind of boring stretch with farm fields, and noticed some movement - on closer inspection it was a large, brown rabbit, running across the field as fast as he could go.
I’ve taken many trains over the years, and have never, ever seen a rabbit out the window before. Cool that it happened on Easter.
FWIW, I do often see large birds of prey in the fields; now I know who they are looking for. I did also see four deer (one group of three, the other was solo) on this trip, which is kind of unusual to be able to see them during the middle of the day.
Nothing angers me more than someone tossing out a rabbit like this. Did they really expect it would survive on its own?
We have been working with the www.makeminechocolate.org people in trying to educate them on the reasons why they should not gift rabbits, chicks and ducks for Easter unless fully prepared to care for them.
My rescue has taken in countless rabbits who were banished to outdoor hutches or given squalid basements to live in. Last year, we were even called to take care of two ducklings someone had dumped on the front steps of a PetSmart. The ducklings were taken to a rescue farm (www.lastchanceranch.org) where they were raised and then put in with the other ducks.
We still need to check around for vets and get an idea how much a vist would be. I hope it’s not so much that we’d need to wait until my tax refund comes in.
It almost certainly would have been a lot more skittish (frankly, I’m surprised this one was that mellow; I suspect it was exhausted and just relieved to hopefully be getting some help), and if you find an albino, the chance of it being a domestic is immensely higher than being a wild cottontail mutant. After all, albino prey animals typically wouldn’t last long since they have no camouflage.
yuliya - Possible, but a loving owner would have papered the neighborhood with flyers. A rabbit that young and tiny would not have gotten far on its own, or survived for long outside, so I doubt Lute would be so far from an escapee’s home. I’m betting good money on an abandonment.
Or had went out looking when they noticed their pet missing. Prior to heading up the hill, I did a quick look around to see if anyone was searching for a missing pet.
Well, I would just like to believe that no one would abandon a poor baby bunny, so humor me. Either way, at least now the bunny is in capable and loving hands.
OK, perhaps it’s a mutant albino wild lil’ bunny who is predisposed to be friendly to humans, and Lute was lucky enough to rescue it before a predator came by?