Thread: The little bunny that moved in..

My home is just 300m from southern boundary of Chch where farms begin. In last month a little half grown bunny, apparently lost, decided he liked the look of my gardens with all the trees and shrubs - and moved in. He's happily settled in now and I frequently find him hopping around the lawns, eating his favorite seeds etc. Doesn't seem troubled by me now, and I keep a water dish topped up for him/her.

What he doesn't know is his 'flatmate' mudz is a killer, one who has bowled umpteen thousand of his species! And somehow he has also managed to avoid all the cats who continually wander the property. I call him Lucky - for obvious reasons. Quite cute to open the lounge door onto back garden of a morning and there he is a few meters away stretched out having a nap on the grass. I go get a coffee, settle in my chair, and chuckle while I watch him and plan the next bunny killing trip somewhere. Very very very lucky boy!!

Wait till he moves his girlfriend in .

I look at him in the morning munching his breakfast. And I tell him from the kitchen window, "today you can have Hazel nut latte, a CCI Minimag soft at 1263fps, or a 223 55gr Fiocchi at 3260".

So far he completely ignores me and carries on eating. Smart bunny..

Wouldn't bt be a better name?
Borrowed time.

We are in exactly the same situation. Been here 8 years and never seen a rabbit before. He's safe from me.

Originally Posted by mudgripz

My home is just 300m from southern boundary of Chch where farms begin. In last month a little half grown bunny, apparently lost, decided he liked the look of my gardens with all the trees and shrubs - and moved in. He's happily settled in now and I frequently find him hopping around the lawns, eating his favorite seeds etc. Doesn't seem troubled by me now, and I keep a water dish topped up for him/her.

What he doesn't know is his 'flatmate' mudz is a killer, one who has bowled umpteen thousand of his species! And somehow he has also managed to avoid all the cats who continually wander the property. I call him Lucky - for obvious reasons. Quite cute to open the lounge door onto back garden of a morning and there he is a few meters away stretched out having a nap on the grass. I go get a coffee, settle in my chair, and chuckle while I watch him and plan the next bunny killing trip somewhere. Very very very lucky boy!!

Attachment 215716

.177 piston power BSA possibly or Diana vintage or modern

"Roderick the reference rabbit"

I used to shoot the rabbits at my place, but stopped when the neighbors who moved in across the road were vegetarian and did'nt believe in killing critters, cause they had values. Tried to grow all their own vegetables being self sufficient an all.

So I turned my place into a rabbit sanctuary, and the rabbits had a huge variety of veges just across the road to chow down on.
They virtually begged me to start shooting the rabbits.

Still remember the look on their face when I said "what happened to your values" priceless.

There’s something to be gained by leaving an animal be sometimes

I’m not sure what it is, but there’s a sense of satisfaction there

In my younger days I use to wake to the deafening sound of the morning chorus, birds everywhere, wierd and wonderful insects in the trees and bushes.
Now I long to find it, without having to go Bush.
Its not there anymore, intruduced spiecies making horrible screeching noises, eating food supplies natives would feasting upon, if it weren't for the mass number of other critters plundering them, avion or mammalion. Better not forget human encroachment either.
I'd rather not be shooting any critter, can use targets for most of my shooting skill pratice . I can and have used cameras for stalking to get a "shot" .
But there is no way in hell that I would sit back watching some pest spiecies having a nice day when the spiecies unique to this country are struggling to survive.
It is my own personal view and I accept that others don't see it that way. That's fair enough.
But me, I'd shoot them. I wish the younger generations could experiance the vibrant mornings and evenings I new as kid.
But I guess I'm living in a dream of a bygone world.

Originally Posted by 7mmsaum

There’s something to be gained by leaving an animal be sometimes

I’m not sure what it is, but there’s a sense of satisfaction there

True.
We have what we call ‘ghost rabbits’ here - see them one day then not for two to five days.
They leave no sign, no little black pepper corns, no munched veggies, nice to see them from the Finnwolf boudoir in the odd morning.

We have a team rule from years past - when any bunny runs half blind up to the torches and you can reach down and pick him up, then you must hold him up, wish him well, and let him go. A catch and release.. This little bloke in the back garden is in a similar category. He's kind of like the lost fawn who blunders into the tiger's den and makes himself at home. Tiger just looks at him for a bit, then goes back to his nap - with one eye open..

Have shot so many there's no need to kill him. He's safe with me - and seems to know it. However I expect any day my half grown bunny will be half a bunny when a cat finds him..

Not the first target animal to come home. As kids on the farm we'd sometimes bring shirtfulls of little bunnies home on the tractor - cats invariably got them. Also a little Damadama wallaby joey though he ate something on the lawn and died. And raised plenty of little wild pigs to porker size - very tasty at 30-40lbs..

We have a few rabbits thought the calici virus would get them.
Neighbours daughter shoots a few.
But they get pretty quiet and it is quite neat to watch them.
Have a good rubbish hole to burn so will have to shoot a few as half burnt rabbits squealing isn't nice to see.

These two live in our garden. Have so far managed to avoid the dogs and are pretty brave now

Took a video of a young bunny out my front windows the other morning, as he made a couple of valiant, but clumsy attempts to mount a juvenile hare. She wasn’t having it..