Rescuing Baby Bunnies and Dealing with Wildlife Rehab

A few days ago we saw a mother rabbit accidentally get ran over by a car right in front of our house. We had been watching this Mommy for the past 2 weeks go in and out of her burrow so we knew babies weren’t far behind. After she passed away my husband graciously buried her out in our backyard. We’re animal lovers and just couldn’t let her lay on the side of the road.

The next day we saw 2 baby bunnies come out of that burrow looking for their mommy. Of course, mommy wasn’t going to be returning. We called a local wildlife rehab center and they agreed to take the babies from us. We carefully got the babies and handled them very gently. We placed them into a box with a lot of cotton towels to help keep them warm.

We drove the 30 minutes to the wildlife rehab center to deliver the babies to them. After examination they determined them to be in good health. They were still young and needed their mother. That’s where a good wildlife center steps in. They will take over and get the babies onto their feet until they can be released back into the wild.

In my first photo you’ll see what a bunny’s nest or burrow looks like in your yard. Please be careful to not run your lawn mower over the burrow and if you have dogs and cats…please keep them away! Spring and summer is birthing season for rabbits, so be on the lookout for those nests in your yard. Second photo shows my son holding one of the babies while I collected the second one. As far as we know…there were only two.

This was a great learning experience for my children. They learned how important it is to protect wildlife even if that wildlife is in our own backyard. They learned who to call to get advice and to get help should they encounter a situation like this again.

NOTE – You should never mess with their burrows/nests or handle baby bunnies unless you’re 100% sure it’s an orphan and needs to be rescued! We described the entire situation to the Wildlife Center and they instructed us on exactly what to do.