Wildlife is scarce in our neighorhood. It's only been 5 years since the farm fields that used to exist here were scraped away to host a crop of houses. The building is done, trees and plants have taken root, and animals are starting to return.
We see bluebirds, goldfinches, and other birds in our yard, but mammals are nonexistent. Except for the bunny.
He emerged one day last summer from under our the neighbor's deck. The house is for sale and vacant. Once he saw us he scurried back under there.
The kids like him. They have fed him carrots and get the binoculars out to spot him sunning himself under the slide. Aidan likes to waddle to the window and say "Where is da bunny? Where is da bunny?"
He was a peaceful bunny, or so we thought. This week I was looking out our north windows and noticed our hydrangea bushes are gnawed down to stumps. I found some damage to our dogwood bushes late last fall so I put out some hose sections to frighten him away (apparently rabbits mistake them for snakes). We had reached a peace, or so I thought.
Then Friday morning while getting the paper, I caught him in the act. He was on the sidewalking chewing on our burning bushes. I scared him away, but on closer inspection, he had given those shrubs a beat down. Not only that, he left behind tell-tale signs of shrub consumption and digestion.
Now I need to make like Elmer Fudd and kill da wabbitt. I really don't want to kill it - I don't want to spill blood on our yard. My choices are: A) Relocate the bunny, B) Send it to Rabbit Paradise, C) Start a food program, D) Ignore the problem.
D is not a choice. I need to take care of this guy (?) before breeding season starts.
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