WORDS FOR WILDLIFE ARTICLE #6

Babby Rabbit

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Same Rabbit Growing Up

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Words For Wildlife
by State licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator, James Orr

BUNNY LOVE

I got a call from a lady who’s young daughter had found a very tiny baby bunny. It’s eyes were not even open. I explained to her that rabbits are one of the hardest animals to rehabilitate as they are so incredibly fragile. Even when they are unhurt they can easily die if fright, their heart literally explodes if they get too scared. The lady understood but explained she had already told her Daughter there was nothing they could do to which the little girl replied “You just give up too easy!”

What could I say? I realized I was giving up too easily. “Sure bring the rabbit over, I’ll do what I can.” When they arrived the rabbit was even smaller than I had imagined, the whole rabbit was the size of my thumb. He moved very little and was very dehydrated. You can tell if an animal, or even a person for that matter is dehydrated by pinching the skin gently between your fingers. It should return to normal position fairly quickly after releasing it. If the skin retains the pinched shape after you release, there is a dehydration problem.

I gave him intravenous fluid and fed him baby bunny formula several times a day. Unlike most animals that need to be fed every 4 hours rabbits only need two to three feedings a day. That was a break for me. The time I generally find myself questioning my good samaritan efforts to rescue and rehabilitate animals is usually about 5 seconds after the alarm goes off for those seemingly endless middle of the night feedings.

I had a heck of a time getting him to use a bottle, but once he figured out the theory he excelled at the process. I think what helped this little bunny was the fact his eyes were still shut when I got him. If he had seen my big ugly face before he got to know me he might have died on the spot.

Most infant animals have a natural instinct not to dirty their nest. They do not relieve themselves until the mother locates them to the appropriate area and stimulates their little private areas. If you do not stimulate the little rascals they can get very sick and even die by holding everything in. (What a way to go) One of the less pleasant tasks I have as a rehabilitator is performing this stimulation in place of the missing mother. She uses her tongue, I prefer a warm damp paper towel as the rewards for ones efforts are not all that great if you know what I mean.

When an animal opens its eyes for the first time all those late night wake up calls and dirty paper towels seem much less significant. Often both eyes do not open the same day so they hop around like some kind of one-eyed bunny pirate. There is something about those sparkling dark eyes and inquisitive little face that repays one for all the fuss in a matter of seconds. It gets better from there as they recognize you and begin holding the bottle with their tiny little hands.

Rabbits need bacteria in their digestive system before they can survive on solid food. Mothers milk is sterile, In the wild rabbits have two types of feces, In the day they tend to leave the infamous little pellets most of us are familiar whereas at night they make a soft stool that has to be eaten and redigested sort of the way a cow chews cud and reprocesses it several times. This is how they would normally introduce bacteria into their system. I went on a scavenger hunt looking for soft rabbit stool which are hard to find as they are eaten almost as soon as they are produced.

I asked my neighbor who raises rabbits if he might get me some. “Let me get this straight” he said, “You want me to get up in the middle of the night, trek out to my rabbit pen with a flash light and tiny shovel, then spy on my rabbits till one has to go....?” He said a few other things but suffice it to say I got what was needed and the Bunny grew up fine. I released him about 4 weeks later and still see him from time to time. One of the hardest things about rehabilitating animals is having to cut the ties once you release them. I often see an animal I recognize and often they pause as if wanting to say hello. The temptation to call one over is always there but its best for them to let them be wild.

A Few Comments on Rescuing Baby Animals
If you see a baby animal, nine times out of ten the mother knows exactly where it is and is taking care of it even if you do not see her. Do not move an animal unless you are positive it has lost its mother or it is in immediate danger. Many animals are only with their mothers after dark as she is out getting food during the day. It needs to be kept in a dark quiet warm location until it can get the proper help.

All animals have slightly different milk formulas and the wrong milk can make it sick with diarrhea, sometimes fatal. (What a way to go) If you do try to help a baby animal make sure you get the right formula (check internet under wildlife rehabilitation) and are prepared to get up often all night long.

The best thing is to give it to an experienced rehabilitator. Often animals that someone tried to care for without proper knowledge are inadvertently made it too weak or sick for me to help by time I get it. Trying to feed a cold animal can kill it, getting the animal too warm can kill it. With babies it is very important they get proper care as soon as possible after being orphaned. There is very little room for error with these fragile little creatures.

DONATIONS NEEDED If you would like to help any donation amount it is greatly appreciated. Donations should be made out to Witter Wildlife Refuge and can be sent to P.O. Box 1118, Huntsville AR 72740.

See web page under "HOW YOU CAN HELP" for specific ways you can help us help wildlife