CUUUUUUUUUUTE!!!

[Miss M]

A litter of five 3-day-old cottontails is adopted by a male Chihuahua:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... uahua.html

 

[MaggieJ]

Very sweet story.

They wouldn't be cottontails, I don't think. The story is out of Liverpool, UK, so they would be the wild European rabbits - same species as our own domestics.

 

[Miss M]

Ooooooh, okay! I forgot about that... I see wild rabbits, I automatically think cottontails!

 

[MaggieJ]

Me too!

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

definitely not cottontails-- not developed enough...

 

[Anntann]

somewhere on that man's patch is a doe looking for her nest of kits. <sigh> Oh well. at least they're being cared for well by the foundation folks (and Mitch)

 

[MaggieJ]

I have to agree with you, Ann... The best thing to have done was to leave them be. Still, if they are wild European rabbits, why didn't mom dig a burrow for them?

 

[Anntann]

Might be a wild Hare. They've been having excellent results with the conservation efforts of the Hare in the UK. And the color of those kits looks rather like the ones on this page:

http://www.hare-preservation-trust.co.uk/rearing.html

 

[MaggieJ]

I thought they looked big for rabbits. Can't see if their eyes are open, but I do know hares are born with eyes open and fully furred... which makes sense if those shown are only three days old.

 

[Devon's Mom Lauren]

I thought they had a little too much fur for three days, although it looked like their eyes were closed. Look about 10 days old to me.I do agree there is a mother rabbit searching that compost pile for her babies.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

The article stated the guy was moving the pile-- so there is no pile for the mom to search--sigh---

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

The article stated the guy was moving the pile-- so there is no pile for the mom to search--sigh---

 

[Miss M]

I thought about that too... what if they weren't abandoned? Poor mama... It isn't clear from the article ("found on the pile", then later "found when he moved the pile"). I just hope whatever milk they're giving them is sufficient.