My Story of Rescuing an Orphaned Baby Bunny

As we drove into the parking lot of a large computer store, the last thing I expected to see was a tiny baby bunny sitting right on the pavement, by the side of the road. I didn't even believe it at first. A bunny? Here, in the middle of town?? Yet there he was, small, helpless, and scared, probably in shock. I thought him dead at first because he did not move as I approached; but when I took a closer look I saw those little shiny eyes blink. He was alive.

I picked the bunny up and carried him to the car, still wondering how on earth he ended up at the parking lot. He quietly sat in my hand. I figured that he had been through too much and no longer cared what happened.

"Look," I said to my husband, showing the bunny. He couldn't believe it either. We searched the area and soon found the nest: in the narrow strip of grass in front of the store. There was another baby bunny next to it - dead - and no sight of the mother. I can only guess how that mother-rabbit had gotten so far into town, but the poor thing did the best she could, finding the only strip of un-asphalted ground available and making her nest there. With so many cars around, she and her litter were doomed from the start. The bunny was about 10 days old; it's a miracle that the family had managed to survive that long.

But now the mother was gone, either hit by a car or scared away by a lawn mower (the strip of grass looked freshly mowed). "What are you going to do with him?" my husband asked, clearly indicating that we did not need a new pet. But I didn't plan to keep the bunny, either. I just hoped I could help the poor creature survive and then have it released. Our neighbor next door had rabbits; perhaps he had a nursing mother who would adopt my orphan?

I had never rescued a wild baby bunny before, but I read some things about it, so I knew I should handle him as little as possible: baby bunnies are very sensitive, and they can actually die of shock or hurt themselves trying to get away from humans. Besides, it is important not to tame the bunny, so that he can survive later on in the wild.