Saturday, April 23, 2016

A Mr McGregor Morning

Our garden is rabbit proof.  So you will understand that it was a shock, first thing this morning, to encounter Peter (or perhaps it was his sister, Flopsy) leisurely hopping through the garden sampling this and that.

There were even two rabbits, one off the two not at all afraid of me.

They are actually snowshoe hares, and as you can see, Flopsy still has a lot of her white winter coat, but the summer brown is on its way.



I would say that once every second year, Peter, or one of his relatives, makes it into the garden. The problem is finding where he gets in. So far that problem has been easily solved. You run after the rabbit, and the rabbit gets out by running back to the place she/he got in. You block the opening, and the garden is once again rabbit proof.




However, this was not Flopsy's idea.  I raced after her for a good ten minutes, but  she was not afraid, and she was not leaving the garden (the other one disappeared right away - he/she was the one I should have followed, instead of Flopsy).

Eventually, I changed tactics. I opened all three gates to the garden and just tried to get Flopsy to leave the garden by one of them. Tired of my pitiful racing after her, she eventually left.

I closed all gates and started weeding.

What did I see after a few minutes? Flopsy, of course, who was back inside and staring at me as she chewed on a shrub.

She knows humans are pathetic runners, and she was not worried about me. As you can see from the picture below (taken without a zoom), I could get quite close to her before she hopped away. I supposed once you have survived foxes, coyotes and fishers, humans (without guns) are not a problem.



I will have to find the breach in my defense system, but Flopsy is not going to cooperate.  Perhaps if  the other hare (who is already completely brown) comes back in, I will be able to follow it to the spot where he/she got in. Obviously, it is widely known in the hare community that there is now a way to get into my garden.

25 comments:

  1. I frequently see rabbits in our garden. When I try to scare them away they just sneer.

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  2. We used to have rabbits, until a neighbours cat caught all the babies one by one, then they moved away, thank goodness!
    I think they read the price tag and only eat the expensive plants! Hope you soon find how they are getting in.

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    1. I have not seen any trace of them in the last few days, but I am planning a thorough inspection of the fence!

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  3. Good luck with you rabbits ! They look nice though. Don't be too hard on them :)

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    1. The worst that could happen to them is to be caught in a live trap and be released a few KM from here.

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  4. I hope you find the hole in the fence and soon. 'Tis the season for baby Flopsies after all..

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  5. Haha, I had a good laugh, could imagine you running around after the rabbits and/or hares. I know all about it, we cannot get rid of them too and I really don't want to murder them, they look too cute.
    Good luck!

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    1. In fact most of the time they do not produce a lot of damage. At our old garden you could not stop them. But there was a lawn and they preferred grass or especially clover over most things.

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  6. Those little guys are pretty smart. They know you can't catch them and they won't show you haw they get in.

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    1. The older I get, the more respect I have for animal intelligence. These hares have always lived right by the house and I do not think it is a coincidence. I think they realize predators do not like to get close to human.

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  7. Are hares as destructive as rabbits? I guess they are being twice the size.

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  8. Alain, I did a wire fence and they did a tunnel under it. So the fight is continuous. Are there any holes under your fence? Or are any ways between bushes?

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  9. We are completely rabbit proofed here too, unfortunately no one has told the rabbits this. The best way of finding the breach in the defence system is to use the power of snow. One snowfall and the prints will soon show any weakness in the defence system. Failing snow, I can only suggest leaping unexpectedly into the garden. If you do this, please film it for a future post. I would have enjoyed footage of you chasing a rabbit for 10 minutes; the surprising a rabbit film would go a long way to remedying this omission ;-)

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  10. I will keep in mind your suggestion of leaping unexpectedly into the garden! I have not found the breach but there is no sign of them. I will hope it is a case of "hare today, gone tomorrow"!

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  11. Terrible thought that you have to fence your garden Alain, at least I don't have to suffer rabbits or deer, all I have are squirrels and badgers which is enough suffering in one lifetime.

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  12. But you obviously have a better class of rabbit ( or hare) than we do here. They are so pretty. They are clever at finding a way in just when you think you are safe.

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  13. Hello Alain, that bunny is so mischievous! Throw it out, turn around and it's back again! I hope you manage the find the weak point in your boundary before the rabbits cause too much damage!

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  14. Oh no!! They're going to mate and have a zillion adorable bunnies eating your garden so I hope you find a way to keep them out!

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