Lucy's "Be prepared" stance

Lucy, our very own paranoid Dutch bunny, is not fond of ...
... well, many things. Primarily that involve being picked up.
Or touching her - because that's just too darn close to being picked up.

When you enter some invisible security perimeter radius around her, she is prepared to bolt. And this is one fast and smart bunny. We swear she can read minds. Just think about picking her up and she will stay out of your reach, eyes always watching you (like one of those paintings).

If Lucy sees you pick up another bunny (like for weekly exam and grooming), she moves her alert status to Defcon 1. She dives for shelter in the corner of the room blocked by a heavy wooden desk and which gives her two exit routes away from the humans. She stays under there, watching the human feet traipsing around the room. When she feels the alert has passed (like when we've left the room), she will venture out to check out what havoc we have wreaked in cleaning their pen and brushing her fellow bunnies.

But if it turns out the human is bringing treats, this stance also lets her run towards the reward.

Camouflage bunnies

Here's the long shot ... I know they like the bricks to keep cool but I wonder if they gravitate to the parts of the fireplace into which they might blend. Which is really hard for a Dutch like Lucy.

Here's the closer shot. Lucy's against the black fireplace doors but still stands out.

Bunya's hard to see even close up.

Bunnydom activities of daily living - 4

As noted in earlier post: This week, RR will try to explore the Activities of Daily Living for bunnies. Won't hit them all in a single week, but we'll see what we can do.

#4 - Stay alert - always!

Staying alert is deeply bred into a bunny's DNA.
As Ethel demonstrates, they are forever on alert for a sound or
any other indication of an intruder, a potential threat.
Perceived danger is often communicated
to the other buns with a loud THUMP!
(Video of "Donald Thump" here. Turn your sound on.)

The sequence of detection, threat assessment and action can go like this:

Some sound, smell or movement alerts the bunny.
Lucy: That human is thinking about picking me up.

The bunny may "periscope" to better assess the threat.
Lucy: The humans are cleaning the pen
and that means grooming!

Defensive action - hide!
Lucy: This is the only place they have never been able to reach me.
Heh, heh, heh ...