Though this is the Year of the Rabbit on the traditional Chinese calendar, some Beaumont-Wilshire residents have been nonetheless surprised at abundant recent bunny sightings.
My family has lived here for decades, but we can’t recall seeing any rabbits until about a year ago. Now we spot them frequently, including a regular who nibbles grass in our backyard. Neighbors found two baby bunnies in a nest in their yard this spring.
I went to local experts with Bugs’ question: “What’s up, Doc?”
Ashley Lema, Wildlife Rehabilitator at Portland Audubon’s Wildlife Care Center, says rabbits have long been common in other NE neighborhoods, and it isn’t abnormal to see an outbreak in new areas as they spread into new habitats, especially during baby season.
Stumptown thumpers, I also learned, have varied bloodlines.
The indigenous branch of the Leporidae family is the Western Brush Rabbit, which is small and mostly gray, but those wee natives have competition.
Unfortunately, many non-native pet rabbits are let loose onto Portland streets by tired owners, according to Tracy Chen and Jane Alder of the local nonprofit Rabbit Advocates, whose mission is rescuing such domestic rabbits. (It’s a misdemeanor in Oregon to abandon an animal.) These throwaway bunnies, easy to identify with their flat faces, multiple colors, and spot patterns, don’t do well outside. If you find such a stray, need to re-home a pet bunny, or want to adopt or foster one, contact rabbitadvocates.org.
Eastern Cottontails are the neighborhood bullies of this story. This invasive species was introduced to Portland in the 1940s from the Midwest and has been on the hop since. Gray or brownish in color with a somewhat pointy nose, cotton ball tail, and long tapered ears, they are larger (2 to 4 pounds) and more prolific than our native Brush Rabbits, becoming the most common Portland bunny.
Eastern Cottontails favor nesting in thick shrubs, weeds, and hedges, most actively feed around dawn and dusk, and have a hearty appetite for many of your favorite flowers, bulbs, and vegetables, especially tender springtime shoots. They are partial to yards with fences they can sneak under, where they can easily come and go but predators can’t.
To save your garden, don’t be like mean Mr. McGregor in The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Consider fencing. Or since rabbits have delicate noses, consider some of the many folk remedies online, like spreading powdered red pepper or garlic oil around the garden.
If you find baby bunnies in a burrow, let them be. They’ve probably not been orphaned. Mama leaves her little ones alone for long periods as she forages for nourishment so she can come back and feed them once or twice a day. At three weeks old, the young’uns will head out on their own.
Don’t try to catch a rabbit and don’t touch one, dead or alive. Rabbits can carry viruses. If you find an injured one, contact Portland Audubon Wildlife Care Center’s hotline daytimes at 503-292-0304 or at audubonportland.org.
We share our urban environment with these cottontails, and with a little knowledge, we can happily co-exist — observing, learning, and enjoying their hoppity company.
BWNA board member Tim Gillespie was a public school teacher in the Portland area for almost four decades.