Okay, this is just a story about my experience the other day. It's not life changing. It's not political. It won't help your marriage or improve your theology. But it has me baffled, so maybe, just maybe, someone out there can suggest an explanation for what I saw.
The other day I was in the back yard getting ready to fill the birdfeeders. Now, my yard here in the desert is completely fenced in with a minimum of 6' high fencing, and my yard has no grass. It is a desert landscape, which means dirt covered by rocks. So as I was going to the side yard to get the birdseed, I noticed a hole had been dug in the side yard along the wall. I took a closer look. It was a brand new hole -- the dirt was still damp -- and it was maybe 3" in diameter. I couldn't see the end of the hole.
My wife, my neighbor, and I all puzzled about what it could be. A coyote could make the hole, but couldn't get into the yard. A rabbit could make the hole, but would likely have to travel a ways from the only possible entrance. A squirrel could make the hole and could get into the yard easily, so that's what I figured it was. I was wrong.
Just before bed, I took a peek out the window with a flashlight and caught the culprit at work. It was a small cottontail rabbit. It was busily digging away at the hole. Mystery solved. How it got into the yard I wasn't sure, but it was definitely a rabbit.
The next morning I looked again and it was still working the hole. I could see little bursts of dirt shooting out from behind as it tunneled further in. I went about my business. At lunch time I took another look ... and the hole was gone. I don't mean somewhat gone. I mean there was no hint that the hole had ever been there. The spot where the hole had been was completely filled and the rock that had been over it was back over it. There was no sign of turned earth, no bare spots, nothing that would indicate that there had been anything there at all. And the rabbit was still there working on it. The little thing was picking up rocks in its mouth and moving them around. I went outside to see where it would go from there, and it was gone, teaching me that rabbits can fit through much smaller spaces than I realized.
So, I'm stuck with this mystery. A wild cottontail rabbit came into my yard and dug a hole which it then covered so perfectly that it was as if it had never been there. Why? If it had been a squirrel, I would figure it was hiding food. Rabbits don't do that. If it had been a turtle, I would figure it had laid eggs. Rabbits don't do that. If the rabbit had just decided that the hole wasn't going to work (what with running into the wall and all the rock in the soil), he might abandon it, but I can't figure out why he would fill it in. I can imagine an anthropomorphic rabbit who thought, "Well, this hole won't work for me. If I leave it the way it is, the owner might be mad, so I'd better put it back the way I found it." But rabbits don't do that. I cannot think of any sort of logical explanation why a rabbit would do what this one did.
As I said, it's just a funny little story. It won't change your life. It won't change mine. But I'm naturally curious and cannot figure out a reason for the behavior. If any of you have an idea, let me know. I'm puzzled.
17 comments:
Consider this...tame bunnies will do the same thing. I have two does in the back, they dug hard enough to break through the fencing on the bottom of their cage, dug this huge hole...it lasted for two days and then they filled it in again...go figure. :)
Really? I've never seen that behavior before from the rabbits I've had over the years. Very strange.
Have you ever heard of the 'Leave no Trace' movement? There are so many rabbits. If they all made holes as they pleased, the desert wouldn't be very pristine anymore would it?
So, as any conscientious rabbit would do, put the dirt, stones, and sticks as they were before you camped, so that the next rabbit can experience a pristine desert.
There are some types of rabbits that will actually make holes and keep their young in them, but cover them while they are out to protect them from predators. The japanese Amami rabbit does this. Or who knows, this might just be a clever rabbit that took a note from the squirrels and is storing some food :) It would be odd, but I guess it's possible. It had to have had a reason for covering it. If it comes daily it's likely hiding it's babies though.
I dont know anything about wild rabbits and this is only a thought. I think its safe to say rabbits retreat into their warrens at any sign of danger. Perhaps he dug the hole, realised he wasnt getting anywhere due to the wall and then refilled it because he doesnt want to mistakenly run into a dead end hole some day if hes getting chased.
Just a thought!
in my opinion (i run a long term shelter and rabbit rescue with 70+ rabbits and am putting together a book on rabbit psychology) there are a couple good answers already on here but not the whole story ... rabbits are almost all born with their version of severs OCD out of necessity, because almost anything that isn't a plant is dangerous to them ... sounds like he made the hole (ive seen some that were 8ft deel with a 3-4" diameter opening and a larger chamber deep at the other end) but for some reason he didnt feel it was good enough to feel safe in so he filled it in (and yes, he probably did save the rocks on purpose) so that a predator wouldnt come and be attracted to an area which is part of his territory - they are very careful to 'tread lightly' on their turf - another instinct that was likely right-on was that they dont want a 'dead' hole that isnt deep enough to protect from a digging animal like a dog somewhere because they wouldnt be safe in it
having said that - as mentioned above, if 'he' shows up at dusk/early dawn and hangs out for just a couple minutes, she is feeding her hidden babies ... rabbits stay away from their nest so they dont attract predators and they do some amazing things to hide them, but i havent ever heard of a cottontail completely erasing the existance of the entrance - they usually just make them in places that are naturally hard to spot
but leave it to a rabbit to learn a new skill for making sure their offspring makes it past infancy, so if that's what's going on i wouldnt be that surprised
one of the things this makes me wonder about is exactly why he decided to abandon his hole at that late stage in its construction - rabbits have to set aside a lot of short-term survival instincts to and put themselves at risk when they make something like that, so they dont decide make a deep dig lightly - it must have seemed like a safe place before he began ... the wall was meaningless to the rabbit because he wasnt trying to make a tunnel with an exit (he may have even considered it as an asset instead of an obsticle and just made a J chaped burrow) ... maybe he smelled something dangerous more than once during the dig and realized he was in a bad neighborhood, or maybe the dirt wasnt of a safe-feeling consistency once he got deeper - why he changed his mind would be an interesting thing to know
great story!
And the rabbit never did come back ... although a couple of years later a very strange plant grew almost exactly on that same spot.
if you get a chance, look up "howards big dig" on youtube - it's a very impressive construction video of the kind of hole in this thread being made
i cant post a link on here from this phone, but it would be good for someone to paste the link to howards big dig on here after they look it up
this video really makes you appreciate how much work they go through, and how incredibly vulnerable they are during the dig - so these burrows are really an important part of their lives and some rabbits cant help but to burrow
I know this post is old but the same thing just happened to me and this is why I googled it! In my desert courtyard... all rocked in. A rabbit digging this big hole...I'm watching thru the window. Next morning it's gone. Rocks perfectly back in place! I'm AMAZED! What the heck? The hole was huge... 2 feet in diameter! My daughter put hay and green beans by it. That must have scared it off.
Paula, ours wasn't scared off. No telling why they leave.
I know this happened a while ago, but being a rabbit breeder myself, i think i might have the solution. My doe (female) rabbits will dig burrows, give birth in them, then bury the hole. Its what wild rabbits will do to protect their young from predators and to regulate temperature. They will only feed the babies at night or early morning so its unlikely you'll see. Hope this clears things up a little!
She is building a nest in that hole, then covers the hole, when it's time for her to give birth she will come back to the hole and have her babies.
Hello everyone,
We live in Sarasota, Florida. We have gardenia bushes growing by our front door, with mulch on the shrubbery bed that holds them. Our front door is sort of recessed, with walls of the house extending out in front on either side of the front entrance. We don't use our front door much. Today we saw a rabbit digging a hole, maybe twice as big as the rabbit. We watched from the front window. A couple of times the rabbit left the digging and went out around the corner to the front of the house. We thought the rabbit might have seen us, or heard us asking what was happening. We decided to leave it alone, and look later. About an hour later we went back to look, and saw that the hole was covered PERFECTLY.... just as others have described. You would think the landscaper did it. We don't know if there is anything in the hole. We will watch to see if the rabbit returns... but we looked it up on Google and came across these similar stories. We are not sure what kind of rabbit it is, but it is not a pet. We have heard others in our neighborhood complain about the damage that rabbits do, and that our Bald Eagles nearby are major predators. This would be a safe place for the rabbit, as it is in a U-shaped spot of the house, with very little activity at the door. This just happened 2/2/19 Anyone have more to add? We definitely believe the other people who have told similar stories.
This totally just happened to us in Colorado. The hole was huge and today... it is gone and put perfectly back to its original state. Blew my mind cause I didn’t know what happened. I will keep my eyes out for the rabbit. It would be nice to have some babies.
We had it happen again last spring, but the babies didn't make it. A rattlesnake found them. Keep an eye out.
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