It was a baby jack rabbit. And so tiny. We are used to having big Jack Rabbits in our garden and love watching them run and hop around, and they never go near our vegetable patch - but they are really big. Sometimes when you just get a quick glance of them, you think it has to be another animal like a coyote or something because they look so large.
Just look at those ears!
But this little babe bunny was tiny - even his ears were small. He hopped around a little bit but seemed a little wobbly on his legs so settled down in some vegetation in the shade - which was good as it was a hot day.
I then went out for the day and when I came back, he was still there....and looking a little fragile... I'd left the house around 9am and now it was 5.30pm and he was still on his own...so I got a little worried.
I looked up wildlife rescue on the internet for their guidlines and it said for rabbits that if they are 4 inches long and their eyes are open then they can fend for themselves and you shouldn't do anything.... I figured he was around 4inches so I resisted giving it a cuddle and just kept my distance.
When it got dark, he moved just a little bit to cozy up to the side of the house which was warm but still no mummy and still no cozy den to go into. Anyhow - we went to bed and the next morning he wasn't there....so we are hoping he is doing OK and found his family and is now hopping around the vineyard somewhere.
John named him Flash for the white dot on his forehead. I wanted to call him Gordon after Flash Gordon, but we already have Gordon the Gopher snake - it had to be Flash. I'm hoping we'll see him again one day soon, recognizing him by his flash - and see that he is doing OK.
My second scary rabbit story came on Wednesday night when I was driving back from San Francisco. Suddenly this large rabbit ran in front of the car - and he was really big. But then, in hot pursuit of the rabbit was an enormous great horned owl!! He was swooping down to the road, claws out ready to pick up this big jack rabbit!!! But in the middle of this was me in my car! Luckily the owl saw the headlights and quickly swooped up and just missed my windscreen. For a split second he was flying straight at my windscreen with his wings outstretched. It was then that I realized that he was in fact larger than my windscreen!! What a wingspan!
Photo by D Chenault
Anyhow - the owl flew off somewhere and the rabbit was saved and hopped into the vegetation! Phew! And I drove on home with a quickened heart rate!!I haven't made a silver rabbit in a while - the ones shown above were from a few years ago...so maybe it's time!!!
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