Today I Buried a Rabbit. Happy Spring ... :(
Bloggers NOTE: I posted a picture of a dead rabbit in the middle of the blog post. This blog post is also a bit graphic in terms of dealing with a dead rabbit. There is no blood though, just a recently departed rabbit. You have been forewarned!
On Monday, I had the unhappy pleasure of burying a dead rabbit which I found in my front yard. Yep, that was my evening. I had wanted to work out. I had wanted to do a nice bit of yard work. Nope. I had to dig a grave in the woods behind my house and bury an unlucky bunny.
I had just pulled into my driveway and stepped out of my car. Glancing over between the bushes next to the car was a large rabbit, just lying there. I literally gasped as his size. He almost looked like he was peacefully sleeping on his side. But I knew he was dead. His one visible eye was glazed over and cloudy. He was just such a magnificent example of an eastern cottontail rabbit. Poor guy. Looked like a pretty healthy weight and beautiful coloring.
Bloggers NOTE: YES... I anthropomorphized the rabbit into a dude rabbit. Get over it, move on.
There was no blood, it looked as if the poor guy's neck was broken. I was thinking a stray cat might have done him in, we have a number in the area. Some friends said he was too big to be taken down by a stray and that maybe a coyote or fox got him.
I know people have mentioned of a couple coyote dens up at Mintz's farm nearby. I can say it most likely wasn't a coyote because they are known for only killing enough to feed themselves and their pups. Now foxes on the other hand, they do kill for sport. Ever hear about the saying "the fox in the hen house?" Chicken coops are surrounded by chicken coop wire for a reason, to keep out the foxes. If allowed into a chicken coop, a fox will kill every last chicken indiscriminately for sport. And again, there were no signs of trauma on the rabbit except for the neck area.
Other people mentioned owls or hawks. Charlotte my neighbor mentioned an American eagle. We have a pair seen quite often on Lake Wynonah. I would think if it were a hawk or eagle, there would've been rabbit hair about or why didn't the bird take the rabbit? He might escaped and then crawled between the bushes for safely, only to succumb to his wounds. I'll never know for sure but my money is on the fox.
Friends asked me if it was a male or female rabbit. They were concerned about a possible nest of bunnies. I didn't check the underside to look for the sex and as I said earlier, I made him a guy rabbit. I picked him up with the shovel and made my way back into the woods. His limbs were starting to stiffen but his body hadn't yet begun to show signs of rigor mortis. It must've happened then on Sunday night.
I wanted to go far back into the woods so that if the grave did start to smell through the earth, it wouldn't waft up to the house. I trudged about 300 feet back into the scrubby woods, laid the recently departed rabbit down on the ground and began digging. Our soil in Schuylkill County totally sucks and is rocky with field stones and shale. It took me a bit to dig a hole 2 feet x 1 foot x 2 feet deep. I guess I got my workout in after all!
I laid the rabbit down with the shovel into his final resting place and stared at him for a moment, saying a small prayer for God's creatures. Such is the way of the world. You know the deal. Nature is cruel, circle of life, rest in peace, all that stuff. Sad but it just happens.
After covering up the shallow grave, I covered it with some field stones and branches to prevent raccoons, coyotes, or the occasional dog from digging it up. Don't need a mess on my hands. It's bad enough I have to do the burial. I didn't feel like reburying a carcass.
As I came back into my yard, I spied another full-size rabbit race across the road into the neighbor's yard. Well at least there are more, I thought. There will always be more rabbits, I then chuckled. I did look for a rabbit's nest in the yard just on the off chance it was a girl rabbit but couldn't find one. I don't need a nest of hungry baby bunnies looming on my conscious after assuming it was a dude rabbit.
 |
| Covering the rabbit grave. |
I had just pulled into my driveway and stepped out of my car. Glancing over between the bushes next to the car was a large rabbit, just lying there. I literally gasped as his size. He almost looked like he was peacefully sleeping on his side. But I knew he was dead. His one visible eye was glazed over and cloudy. He was just such a magnificent example of an eastern cottontail rabbit. Poor guy. Looked like a pretty healthy weight and beautiful coloring.
Bloggers NOTE: YES... I anthropomorphized the rabbit into a dude rabbit. Get over it, move on.
There was no blood, it looked as if the poor guy's neck was broken. I was thinking a stray cat might have done him in, we have a number in the area. Some friends said he was too big to be taken down by a stray and that maybe a coyote or fox got him.
 |
| Sir Rabbit |
Other people mentioned owls or hawks. Charlotte my neighbor mentioned an American eagle. We have a pair seen quite often on Lake Wynonah. I would think if it were a hawk or eagle, there would've been rabbit hair about or why didn't the bird take the rabbit? He might escaped and then crawled between the bushes for safely, only to succumb to his wounds. I'll never know for sure but my money is on the fox.
Friends asked me if it was a male or female rabbit. They were concerned about a possible nest of bunnies. I didn't check the underside to look for the sex and as I said earlier, I made him a guy rabbit. I picked him up with the shovel and made my way back into the woods. His limbs were starting to stiffen but his body hadn't yet begun to show signs of rigor mortis. It must've happened then on Sunday night.
 |
| Workout. |
I wanted to go far back into the woods so that if the grave did start to smell through the earth, it wouldn't waft up to the house. I trudged about 300 feet back into the scrubby woods, laid the recently departed rabbit down on the ground and began digging. Our soil in Schuylkill County totally sucks and is rocky with field stones and shale. It took me a bit to dig a hole 2 feet x 1 foot x 2 feet deep. I guess I got my workout in after all!
I laid the rabbit down with the shovel into his final resting place and stared at him for a moment, saying a small prayer for God's creatures. Such is the way of the world. You know the deal. Nature is cruel, circle of life, rest in peace, all that stuff. Sad but it just happens.
After covering up the shallow grave, I covered it with some field stones and branches to prevent raccoons, coyotes, or the occasional dog from digging it up. Don't need a mess on my hands. It's bad enough I have to do the burial. I didn't feel like reburying a carcass.
As I came back into my yard, I spied another full-size rabbit race across the road into the neighbor's yard. Well at least there are more, I thought. There will always be more rabbits, I then chuckled. I did look for a rabbit's nest in the yard just on the off chance it was a girl rabbit but couldn't find one. I don't need a nest of hungry baby bunnies looming on my conscious after assuming it was a dude rabbit.
You did a good job of hiding him... only thing I recognize in the picture is you. Since you made him a dude... you could also put a marker on the grave... so are you going to sit shiva for him.
ReplyDeleteI think the pile of various branches and small tree trunks that I dragged on top of it will be a good marker. LOL. Unless you think I should get a granite headstone that says "here lies Bugs." LOL
ReplyDelete