I'm being watched

This is one of the main reasons I love going on the Banff/Canmore Christmas Bird Count, LOL. There are so many of these wild European Rabbits in Canmore - seems that there is at least one, whichever street you look down. Some are dark grey like this one, some are a brown colour and others are a mix of black and white. The latter, especially, always look so out of place running loose - they look as if they have escaped their cages. You just feel you want to pick one up and cuddle it : )

"Several different domestic breeds exist. Those presently in the wild in Alberta, likely descended from escaped or released pets, are about the size of a Snowshoe Hare or slightly smaller. Currently, they occupy only limited ranges, all in the vicinity of human dwellings where they have been able to find protective cover by sheltering under decks, porches or other buildings. The largest known population, which has existed for at least 20 years, occurs in southeast Canmore. Another population is at Drumheller, north of the Red Deer River.

Although local residents make attempts to eliminate them because of their habit of eating valuable ornamental and garden plants, they continue to reproduce faster than they are eradicated. Surplus individuals are forced to the periphery of the townsite. There they are subject to heavy predation by Coyotes, and thus have not yet been able to spread."

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