Ask a bunny: Leaps and bounds!

"How fast can bunnies run/jump?"

Way faster than even the fastest hominz! We're actually faster than polar bearz and roadrunnerz.  Zoom zoom! There's lots of different kindz and sizes of bunnyz so some of us are faster than others.  Harez and jackrabbitz are the most fast, sometimes up to 80 kilometers an hour!   I can run about 10 meters in a one second.  That would be more than 35 kilometers in an hour!  But I would never actually run for that long, I'd get really tired. And thirsty. And probably lost. Levi is better at directions than me. What makes us really good at running is how zig zaggy we can be without loosing speed! That helps us win at tag even if the other animalz are faster than us. Beelzebub, Bunnyographer

It depends:  -Are there treats involved? -Does someone want to clip my toenails? -Are we supposed to go to the vet? Then I can easily outrun the humans!  Sometimes they catch me off guard though.  Or use corners to their advantage. Or I'll hide from them in a box - and they'll just pick up the box because they're so much bigger than me. We are very good at jumping!  In some places there are even competitions for rabbit jumping.  It's sort of like the ones with horses, but the hurdles are lower.  Our back legs are strong so rabbits can jump very far in just one hop!  The farthest rabbit jump that people have seen is three meters in a single bound.  Pretty impressive when you think about how short we are! Leviathan, Bunnyologist PS: Let's say maybe you had this tortoise friend right?  And maybe that tortoise was getting teased for not being so good at sports. You might not always try your hardest during a friendly race, you know what I mean?

If you have a rabbit related question feel free email the bunnies directly at bunny.questions@gmail.com!

Ask a Bunny: What-ivores?

"Are rabbits rodents?"

Nope! Lots of the mammals that can't fly are rodents, but bunnyz and hominz aren't. Rabbits are a very special kind of critter that scientist call Lagomorpha. Which probably means we're related to wearwolfs (I'm just guessing on that part). Chinchillas are totally rodents though, and clearly not as great as bunnies. Beelzebub, Bunnyographer

We used to be. We didn't change, science changed - 'cause that's how learning works. Some humans used to think Pluto was a planet - ha! Anyway... Rabbits have different teeth than rodents, mostly on account of being herbivores.  (Okay so there was that one time I swallowed a bug by accident.) The point, is most rodents like to eat meat and bunnies don't. Leviathan, Bunnyologist

If you have a rabbit related question feel free email the bunnies directly at bunny.questions@gmail.com!

Bunny personalities

Aside from everything generally wonderful about bunnies, each little fluff is independently fantastic!  One of the best things about having multiple bunnies is seeing their adorable differences. How they eat, which toys they prefer, even how they respond to noises can be unique.

Breakfast at our house is a good example.

Beelzebub gets so excited he will dart back and forth jumping up the side of his playpen.  A few times he's actually climbed up its wall - all four paws in the mesh!  (He hasn't mannaged to get out just yet - I'm still waiting for that day.)  He dives into his breakfast dish, often knocking pellets out with his front feet.

On the other hand, Levithan is casual about breakfast.  We have our little routine where he gets exactly two pets and then takes his papaya* out of my hand. He hops off into a tunnel to eat, and usually doesn't bother looking at his food bowl until later.

Left: Beelzebub's uneaten pellets all over the tray. He even tracked some hay in there.
Right: Leviathan methodologically ate from one section at a time. 

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*Not a necessary part of a rabbit diet.  Levi's fur is long and rabbits lick themselves clean like cats.  The enzymes in papaya help for him avoid possible tummy trouble.

Ask a Bunny: Vegetarian AND vegan!

"I'm think about adopting a shelter animal.  But I feel weird saving a cat or dog, only to feed other animals to it.  Are rabbits vegetarian?"

What? No! Of course not - we're sweet fluffy little aminalz!  Beelzebub, Bunnyographer  AND TOTALLY AN AMINAL! PS: Our vet says it's not great to feed cats and dogs a vegetarian diet.

We sure are!  We eat many kinds of vegetables and fruits that you can share with us!  We need to mostly eat hay though - and none of the humans I know ever want to share that for some reason.   Leviathan, Bunnyologist Gets subtext better than his brother.

If you have a rabbit related question feel free email the bunnies directly at bunny.questions@gmail.com!

Sound effects

Rabbits are smart, they're big communicators.  Just not with a lot of noise.  They do make some sounds, but as prey animals they mostly don't want to draw attention to themselves.  However, their ecological niche makes them exceptionally good listeners.

Just as dogs can learn through repetition that sounds (and by extension words) have meaning, rabbits will develop their own 'vocabulary' as it were.  However, they're more like cats when it comes to responding.  Oh they know full well that "Not for bunnies!" means the human is going to make them stop whatever they're doing.  They'll usually stop - and give you the side-eye* to see if you're actually coming over to stop them.  When you do they'll either bound away to play with something else, or hunker down for head rubs.  Go back to your book however, and they know you didn't really mean business so they're free to continue trying to pull everything out of the recycling bin.

As a human it's easy to forget how much noise mundane activities can make.  You might not be aware for example, that Oxbow multivitamins and Tums have a similar density - and therefore make a similar sound when rattled around in their plastic bottles.

When you find yourself at the medicine cabinet with a very eager rabbit standing on it's back feet, paws on your shin - you'll be very glad you have emergency raisin stashes around the house.

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* Actually with nearly 360 degrees of vision they're always giving everyone 'side-eye'.

Blah blah not for bunnies blah

Hominz are such control freaks! All the things have to be done their way - so bossy! It's like they read whole books on not letting bunnies have any fun.

"No Bub, this human food is not for bunnies!"

"Nice try Bub - house plants are not for bunnies."

Boring lettuces intentionally grown where I can reach them. 
Pfft - do not want.

"You've got plenty of phone books to play with Bub, the library books are not for bunnies."

"Stop eyeing the neighbour's garden, tulips and daffodils are not for bunnies."

"Bub, this banana is bigger than your head, you only get one bite."

Adoption options!

Reduced adoption fess at WHS for summer 2016!

Humans, some very important news for you today!  
Right now the Winnipeg Humane Society, has so many furry friends looking for their forever homes that they've decreased or dropped the adoption fees!  And don't forget - unlike pet stores, when you get a pet from the WHS they've already had all their necessary medical checkups and procedures.  So if you've been thinking about expanding your fur-family, now is a great time to give them a visit (their website is www.winnipeghumanesociety.ca)!  

I get it - not all humans are cut out for bunny parenting.  Some of you just can't handle this much fluffy awesomeness (and not all pets are lucky enough to be rabbits).  Maybe you're more into snobby cats that will mostly ignore you.  Perhaps you prefer the emotional support of a dog that constantly wants your attention.  My fabulous friends at the Humane Society will help you find the new love of your life no matter what species of pet parent you are! While you're there say hello to the nice volunteers for me!

Fluff & binkies, 
Leviathan, Bunnyologist and Animal Welfare Advocate