The Black Monster vs the Bunnies

Despite living in a large city we have spotted quite the wildlife. We saw a hawk, with a squirrel in its talons. We have plenty of bunnies and birds. And, of course there is Ransom.

A few weeks back, Hubs discovered a rabbit hole in our front yard filled with brand new baby bunnies. We left them alone and watched them grow. When it was time for Richard to mow, they had been there about 2 weeks and were now super cute. For some reason mini rabbits are waaaaay cuter than big rabbits that eat my hostas down to nothing.



We caught the babies and put them into a large Panera sack while Hubs mowed. I brought them inside with me and away from the black monster (aka. Ransom). Afterwards, we put them back into their hole and they were gone the next day.

The next rabbit-mom was not quite as smart. She did pick a spot completely in the shade, knowing the temperatures are going to be high this week. However, she chose the backyard. Within the invisible fence boundary = Ransom’s Territory.

This morning as I was in the bathroom getting ready for a normal day of work, I hear a loud, high-pitched, incessant squealing. When I finally put two and two together – that Ransom was outside and that the noise was not a bird, I quickly go and find a new baby rabbit on the patio with the black monster sniffing and nudging it with his nose. I did the worst thing possible. I panicked and said “Ransom!”

Which triggers the response of “take it and run.” So he puts the entire bunny in his mouth and moves to the other side of the lawn. I ask him if he wants to eat, but the squealing of the bunny distracts him so much he doesn’t even budge. Still panicking and not wanting a baby bunny to die on my watch, I yell for Richard.

The bunny stops squealing, assumedly dead, and Ransom loses enough interest that I ask him if he wants to eat again. Torn between the bunny and me, he comes to me – or so I thought. Instead, he goes running under the bushes for another bunny giving me a chance to pull on his tail until he turns around and I grab his collar and also giving us the location of the hole.

Richard has now come outside and gets the bunny. It is a new baby with his eyes still closed, barely any hair, and not strong enough to use his own feet. Ransom hadn’t tried to eat it or kill it and it has survived this extreme trauma, barely. We put it back into the hole. The hole is empty and I try not to think about what happened to the rest of the babies. Perhaps she had only had one of them when Ransom found it. Maybe the others escaped. The last possibility is one I’d rather not think about.

Ransom’s normal routine allows him to be outside all morning until we leave for the day. After we brought him inside and fed him, he stood by the door, followed me around, begging to be let back out. He never gets toys because he ruins them, so this was probably a big excitement for him – a toy that was soft, moved and even squeaked. Although I would love to cut down on the rabbit population in my yard, I don’t necessarily want it to be the brand new babies completely helpless against the giant black monster.