Peter wrote in :

What do I feed a baby rabbit ??


Due to all the mowing in the neighborhood, and a few hawks and crows
I've somehow adopted a baby rabbit.

Seems to me about 5 - 6 weeks old... has a full coat, but still
can't figure out how to use the hind legs. I'm assuming he/she/it
was either being weaned by mother, or mother is no longer available.

A little late for this, or maybe early for next time. Are you quite sure
the mother was pushing up daisies (and not eating them)? I know that the
parents of some herbivous animals often leave their children unattended
for extended periods of time to feed themselves.

An example is in the great panda expeditions of the 60s "scientists"
would find panda cubs alone in hollowed out trees and assume they were
abandoned. They would then hussle the cub off to civilization, where it
would summarily expire. It is now known that it is quite normal for
pandas to behave this way and the only significant danger the cub faced
under the circumstances was from well meaning humans. [yes I know pandas
are really omnivorous]

If you do a web search I'm sure you'll find pages that say that rabbits
only need to nurse their children for a short period of time each day, so
it shouldn't be odd for the mother to be MIA for an extended period.

Obviously, you are more familar with your situation and the mother may
have been in fact moved to the Great Warren in the Sky, but for others
reading who may not know better, don't assume the worst.

- Salty