Calling All Rabbit Nutters

[TJAnonymous]

We have a stray domestic rabbit loose in our garden. I don't know if someone lost him/her or possibly dumped it. She/He does let us get close but we couldn't catch her/him. We tried for a good 15 minutes or so... I didn't want to push too hard that the buns would leave altogether. Plus, my garden is right next to the road and I was worried about it getting hit by a car. It's actually quite a pretty buns... Greyish, black tail, white belly, and blue eyes!

I took a live trap down there with a big slice of watermelon inside.

We have a buck currently that lives in our sunroom. He was also a homeless stray but very very tame & docile. If this new stray ends up being a boy, I wonder if they will fight if I put them in the same room together?

 

[R2elk]

We have a stray domestic rabbit loose in our garden. I don't know if someone lost him/her or possibly dumped it. She/He does let us get close but we couldn't catch her/him. We tried for a good 15 minutes or so... I didn't want to push too hard that the buns would leave altogether. Plus, my garden is right next to the road and I was worried about it getting hit by a car. It's actually quite a pretty buns... Greyish, black tail, white belly, and blue eyes!

I took a live trap down there with a big slice of watermelon inside.

View attachment 4218508

We have a buck currently that lives in our sunroom. He was also a homeless stray but very very tame & docile. If this new stray ends up being a boy, I wonder if they will fight if I put them in the same room together?

That looks like a wild cottontail.

 

[TJAnonymous]

That looks like a wild cottontail.

It's not... First, the wild rabbits around here are much smaller and brown, not grey.

This buns is much larger, Grey with some brownish spots. It has a black tail and black tips on his ears. White belly. A little bit of white on its feet.

It also was not afraid of people or the lawn mower. It didn't run away at all... However it would NOT allow himself to be caught. I was able to get within a foot before he'd hop away a few feet, then lay down and stretch out... Like he was taunting us! If we walked away, he'd come right back into the garden.

I've got a lot wild bunnies around here. Even some that kinda stick around when I walk down to the garden in the mornings. But none have ever allowed us to get within 10 feet... Let alone almost within our grasp repeatedly. This bunny has clearly been raised around people but maybe not handled enough to be fully tame.

 

[TJAnonymous]

This is what a wild rabbit looks like around where I live.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Hubby got another picture of him while he was mowing. He said the buns ignored him and the mower completely, even when he was just a few feet away.

In this photo, you can see the differentiation between the grey and brown fur. You can also see the black on his tail. It was completely black on top and white underneath, along with his white belly. Oh, and white on his feet...

And have you ever seen a wild rabbit with blue eyes? I haven't.

 

[Jenbirdee]

Hubby got another picture of him while he was mowing. He said the buns ignored him and the mower completely, even when he was just a few feet away.

In this photo, you can see the differentiation between the grey and brown fur. You can also see the black on his tail. It was completely black on top and white underneath, along with his white belly. Oh, and white on his feet...

And have you ever seen a wild rabbit with blue eyes? I haven't.
View attachment 4218520

Just because you haven’t seen it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist?
My brother has a lot of wild bunnies visiting his yard and he’s been feeding them for years and they get closer and closer yet they are still wild bunnies. They are just not so afraid anymore.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Just because you haven’t seen it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist?
My brother has a lot of wild bunnies visiting his yard and he’s been feeding them for years and they get closer and closer yet they are still wild bunnies. They are just not so afraid anymore.

Wild rabbits do not have blue eyes!

He is not a wild rabbit. He's domestic... You can easily tell in person by his size, behavior, and his eyes.

I haven't been able to catch him yet but I did get a better picture this morning.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Oh no. I'm going to have to go back through and read 600+ pages of rabbit thread. Kept a rabbit for years growing up. They're little jerks that poop more than chickens. There's nothing quite like being bit in the butt by something with scissors for teeth, all because you took a 30 second break during your 3 hour petting marathon.

That said, this is my favorite BYC emoji:

Update: I'm 10 pages in and have only seen 1 cute bunny picture. However, there's several pictures of things that look like they're from The Blair Witch Project.

 

[jnicholes]

Wild rabbits do not have blue eyes!

He is not a wild rabbit. He's domestic... You can easily tell in person by his size, behavior, and his eyes.

I haven't been able to catch him yet but I did get a better picture this morning.

View attachment 4218632

No offense, but I’ve seen wild rabbits that look exactly like that where I live when I go out hunting.

No, I don’t hunt rabbits.

 

[jnicholes]

Wild rabbits do not have blue eyes!

He is not a wild rabbit. He's domestic... You can easily tell in person by his size, behavior, and his eyes.

I haven't been able to catch him yet but I did get a better picture this morning.

View attachment 4218632

@TJAnonymous

I just did some research, because you got me curious about the eye colors of rabbits. According to my research, wild rabbits CANNOT have blue eyes, as that gene is only found in domestic rabbits. However, I have a hypothesis of why it looks like a wild rabbit with blue eyes.

It’s possible it’s a mix between a wild cottontail and a domestic rabbit. That would explain the behavior and the eye color as well as the wild rabbit look.

Even then, blue eye color I think is a recessive gene. This is only a hypothesis.

You may have a truly rare and unique rabbit there!