May, 2013
Over the past couple of weeks we had a great time photographing cute and fluffy wild European rabbits. It’s a common animal of the British countryside introduced to England in the 12th century. Nevertheless it is such a good feeling to spend some time close to them.
Our photographed family of rabbits had five adorable kittens with one of them being very brave and curious.
Adventurous sibling most of the time was followed by another kitten but it was more cautious and shy.
A typical wild rabbit day starts at dawn. Eating, grooming and playing continuous until about mid morning. Time around mid to late afternoon is spend for resting and sleeping in the most extensive burrow system called warren which is dug to a depth of 3 meters. But our brave kitten didn’t need a warren all the time - it had a favorite sleeping spot over ground. It was such a delight to watch how its eyelids were getting heavier and heavier and it slowly was falling asleep…
More active live starts again in the early evening. Eating is on the top of the list.
They would graze heavily and rapidly for roughly the first half hour, followed by about half an hour of more selective feeding.
Time after dinner is perfect for grooming.
Rabbits are very alert mammals. It’s not a surprise that they listen to every single sound by rotating their cute ears. Our kittens were always alerted by a call of a magpie or a noise of an air plane crossing the sky. It used to take just a glimpse of a second for them to disappear inside the burrows.
A maze of interconnecting tunnels served superbly as a hiding place. They would trick us by disappearing in one burrow and appearing in the other.
During the day kittens may look a bit sad
Sometimes a bit naughty
But always very sweet and lovable...
Rabbits may live two or more years in the wild, but when predators are numerous and weather conditions are extreme, they seldom live more than a year. Hopefully our rabbits will be the lucky ones.