Surprise!

[annie7]

We were doing some landscaping in the back yard and this little guy popped out of a flower patch. Before we could stop her, my daughter instinctively reached down and started petting him. Will the momma take him back? I'm kind of worried!
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y284/veganchicklol/LastElementaryDay019.jpg
:(

[vegma]

Awww, how cute! I can see why she would want to pet him (her?)! I hope the mama bunny is ok with it - let us know what happens...

[PikkuMyy]

Yes, the momma should take him back. Just don't touch him any more so he doesn't get any more scent on him. If you see him again and again in the same place and never a parent, contact your local wildlife rehab and ask them what to do. But momma bunnies usually leave them alone in the day and come back at dawn, evening, and night to care for them.

[Christa]

We have lots of cottontails around here (that looks like the kind of little bunny you have there, I think). We found a baby last year that was being carried around in the mouth of a cat. After rescuing it from the cat, we called the humane society wildlife rescue program.

Fortunately the bunny was uninjured & the wildlife program told us that, once they are the size of a lemon, they are capable of caring for themselves & mommy rabbit often abandons them. They released the little bunny in a field near our house & said that it should be just fine assuming no other animal caught it. I'd just leave the rabbit that you found where you found it & it should be fine.

[ariix]

Originally posted by Christa
I'd just leave the rabbit that you found where you found it & it should be fine.
I agree.

[annie7]

Thanks, you guys! As far as size, it’s about the size of two golf balls. I guess that might equal a lemon. We’ve seen it once more. There is a big bun that was out in the middle of the yard this morning, but never went near the area with the baby. I don’t know if that’s coincidence or not?

[Christa]

Here's a pic of the bunny we found. Yours looks almost as big as the one we had (at least from the picture!).

http://photobucket.com/albums/y290/Tessangelina/?action=view&current=DSCN0365.jpg

We put her (my kids decided it was a girl named Ginger) in a wooden box w/ hay & some veggies until the wildlife program came b/c we weren't sure if it was hurt since a cat had it! If it was just hopping around the yard, of course, I wouldn't have trapped it!

[annie7]

I found out that if they still have any white patch left on their heads, they are under two weeks old, but still may fend for themselves a bit. By the time that patch is gone the momma leaves them. The one we found has a patch that is nearly gone. So, it's probably going to be ok.