Einstein

It is with great sadness that I report that our beloved Einstein passed away this week.

Einstein was an interesting fellow, a great big French Lop with a huge personality. He could be a real growly grump in the wrong environment who would even full-on assault you if you didn't listen to him, but for the most part he was a massive lump of adorability who loved attention. I, like many of the volunteers, whiled away many a happy lunchtime giving him all the head-strokes he demanded.

Because we all spent so much time with him he regularly featured on this blog and our Facebook page, but for the last 8 months or so he had been living at Caroline's house being fussed, along with his (not-so-fussed-cos-she-hates-it) partner Neroli.

Then last Monday Einstein became suddenly withdrawn, something was obviously wrong and Caroline rushed him straight to the vets. After a few days of treatment he seemed to be doing better, but then again on Monday, 27th October, it became clear that he was still unwell. Caroline booked him in for a scan to try and find out what was going on, but very sadly he passed away later that day.

We will all miss you dearly Einstein. Binky free, you big cuddly hunk of bunniness.

This Is The End

People who don't live with rabbits often don't realise they have proper tails. Even from fairly close, most bunnies look like they have a ball of floof stuck to their butt, but what you are seeing is just the end of the tail. Like most animals, our little fluffy friends have proper tails they use to aid their balance, it's just that theirs are mostly tucked underneath out of sight

At the Rescue, we are of course well aware of the true shape of a rabbits tail because we deal with so many sick and mistreated bunnies needing them trimmed or cleaned. When the tail becomes wet and the floof flattens down, you see an entirely taily-looking tail.

For all my experience and time around rabbits though, I must admit I don't see this all that often - as Einstein relaxed into his dreamy mega-afternoon-nap, his big floofy tail just rolled out flat behind him! How cool (and slightly weird looking) is that??!!

(Note - keen-eyed readers will have spotted that this is the other end of what we saw yesterday.)

Eyes Tight Shut

Did you know that rabbits sleep with their eyes partially open to spot approaching predators? (Or annoying humans wanting to photograph or cuddle them while they are asleep!) Or at least, you know, they can do…

"[...zzzzzzzz…]"

A Hutch Will Not Do

"Oh, hello. Einstein here. That BHV fellow was in a bit of a grumpy mood this morning, so I thought I'd step in and impart some of my wisdom.

Apparently, or so he says, it was really difficult to type those words for the title of yesterday's post. That "A Hutch Is Not Enough" business is something he believes in very passionately so it kind of grated on him typing the opposite, even for a joke. Stupid weak-minded human.

Well anyway, guess what? I, a bunny of larger than average stature, of course believe in it too. So lets just clear the air and make sure we are all on the same page.

• A hutch is not enough.
• A cage is not enough.
• A tiny section of one room barely bigger than a couple of litter trays is not enough.
• A tiny hutch attached to a tiny run you bought in the pet shop, because the sales person said it was for rabbits, is not enough.
• I need to stretch out.
• I need to stretch up.
• I need to run about. And I don't mean take two hops and have to turn around, I'm not circuit training, I want to actually pick up some speed and jump about a bit!
• I need to run about when it suits me, not when it suits you, so don't think it's OK to shut me in a tiny space for more hours than you don't. Scheduled exercise time is for prisoners, not family members.

So there you go. It's 2013, not 1913, you humans are supposed to be cleverer now, a hutch is really not enough. If you want to know what a modern rabbit house should look like, check out the Rescue website.

Well that's my little lecture over. Now, where's that BHV bloke gone with my breakfast?"

Brain Boxes

I'm not sure this is one of your best ideas, Einstein.

"Remind me, what was that thing that Newton discovered again?"

Einstein A Go (Go)

It's usually the giants and larger rabbits we let run around the Rescue.  They appreciate the large space, they are less likely to squeeze into somewhere they're not supposed to be and, most importantly, they are easier to find when it's time to go back in!

The only problem is, they are not always the most well behaved bunnies.  Somebun spent much of Saturday afternoon running around winding everybun up and starting jealous fights amongst the pairs and groups.  I think we're going to have to keep a close eye on this one...

"The setup is complete.  Now watch it all kick off as I run up this path!"