Neither of the posts I’ve meant to put here in the last two days have made it from brain to blog. I’ve been nursing a mild cold (and congratulating myself on not getting swine flu like a fair few people I know… well done, immune system!) and it’s filled my head with a bit of cotton wool. Still, at least now I know that my capacity to neglect blogging duties extends to guest blogging stints as well as to my own sporadically updated slice of the internet.
As a low-effort placeholder entry, I’ve decided to do a little pet blogging. It seems to be a common feature of so many feminist blogs, whether you’re a cat person, a dog person, or a pony person.
Me? I like rabbits.
EDIT: God dammit, rookie mistake. Linked to an image on a restricted bandwith host. Pic shall return when I can get at it again.
That’s my guy, and the reason I’m a bunny person. His name is Bambalam (whoa, black bunny…), and he’s six. That picture was taken a couple of years ago. He’s got a few tiny, tiny grey hairs around his mouth these days (which stress me more than my own stray greys) but is still a fuzzy adorable ball of awesome.
I never intended to become a rabbit owner. I expected one day I would probably adopt a cat, then a dog if I ever managed to afford a permanent or semi-permanent residence in Sydney with a decent yard. And then one day, in the only truly ethically run pet shop I’m aware of in Sydney, I turned around and found myself face to face with a tiny, adorable, wonky-eared ball of fluff. One enormous ear stood up, and was pointed at me in what I later established was an expression of interest. The other floomped straight down, covering half of his face. It was love at first sight.
EDIT: God dammit, rookie mistake. Linked to an image on a restricted bandwith host. Pic shall return when I can get at it again.
He’s been with me ever since, and while he has a lot more control of his floppy ear, he’s still lop sided. For a while he had a bonded companion, a rescue bun named Toon who sadly and unexpectedly passed away last year. He was extremely depressed for a while afterwards, and we all still miss her.
I’ve found that a lot of people just have no idea about rabbits as pets. They’re conceived of as a pet that sits in a cage in the backyard, doesn’t live long, and doesn’t have a great deal of personality. The truth is that they’re highly independent and social creatures with extremely individual quirks and mannerisms… but as prey animals, if they haven’t associated you with “member of my warren” rather than “giant terrifying omnivorous ape creature”, you’ll never see it. When kept inside with a high level of interaction, they bond to their humans in an unmistakeable way.
The above video is Bambalam circling my feet (and YES, those are furry monster feet slippers). It’s a gesture of affection and/or a courtship ritual that rabbits perform on the truly appreciated, usually whilst making an odd little noise that sounds like a creaking floorboard. They purr when patted by chattering their teeth together. And if I’m sad and lying down to play with Bam, he tries to comfort me by pulling out my eyebrows with his teeth. Um… on that last one, I’m pretty sure he’s trying to groom me.
The most fascinating thing about becoming a bunny owner (aside from the new ways you learn to improvise protection for cables and skirting boards) is learning to communicate with the little freaks. They’re largely non-verbal creatures, who do most of their communicating through body language and posture. Ear angles, head position, the height they’re holding themselves off the ground, whether their body is bunched or relaxed, grooming, even the position of their tails (did you know they wag them?) is a word, an inflection, a phrase in bunny speak. You learn the language of your bunny’s body… and you learn to talk back to them.
My partner, R, was quite startled the first time he saw me communicate “in bunny”. I’d done something to which my indignant little bunny-man had taken offence to, and he was in classic “You have offended my fragile rabbit dignity” position: a short distance away, deliberately facing his back to me, bunch up in a compact position “ignoring me”. He was, however, occasionally peeking over his shoulder to indicate that I had the opportunity to make peace.
I hunkered down on the ground, caught his eye, and began to move my hands over my face as though I was grooming myself. Bunnies groom socially, and I was inviting him to engage in a social activity. He shifted and watched me a bit, then suddenly turned around and began to groom himself. In bunny: “I accept your invitation to partake of this social ritual.” After a while I extended my hand to offer pats (or “grooming”), and after a moment’s very deliberate hesitation, he moved over and allowed me to pat him. Altercation resolved.
Anyone interested in more about bunny communication (and generally what rewardingly weird companion animals they can be) is advised to read The Language of Lagomorphs.
Signing off for now,
-Crazy Bunny Lady.
I am so glad to see someone writing about house rabbits. I have a bonded pair, and they are a wonderfully comforting and loving presence in my life. They really kept me going this past winter, when I had just moved to a new town and hadn’t made any friends yet.
People are really wrong when they assume rabbits have no personality. My two couldn’t be more different. Catilla is a little mischief-maker who is constantly exploring the house, knocking over things, and trying to attack the trash. She’s a bit skittish, but is slowly warming to being petted. Kommissar is the opposite. He’s mellow, calm, completely terrified of any floor that’s not carpeted, and is constantly demanding that we groom him and pay attention to him.
In addition, they are excellent apartment pets – clean, quiet, and not terribly expensive to care for. And, after a few bad experiences with roomates’ poorly socialized cats, my bunnies seem like perfect angels. I seriously recommend rabbits as pets to anyone who is looking for a soft, fuzzy alternative.
Aww, so cute. I loves my bun, he is definitely a playful, quirky character. Some days he wants to play chasey in the backyard, others he just hangs out around waiting for pets. He’s broken out of his cage repeatedly and climbed onto the roof. I do not know why.. :D
XLNT bunny posting and vid… thanks! Haven’t had one as a pet, but have been a bunny fan ever since I read and watched ‘Watership Down’… I know, a lapine fantasy, but now I always sense a wise look in a rabbit’s eyes. Several years ago, I worked a two-week long motorsports event in Lake Havasu City, AZ that was held at a resort overrun with local hares… jackrabbits, I think. Every morning I would drag myself outta bed at 4:30AM to head to the race site and prep for the day, so when I left my ground level room, there would be literally HUNDREDS of local hares on the lawn, having silflay (breakfast) in the dark before the sun rose. At first, they would move away from me warily, but by the third day I could slowly walk amongst them without a single bunny foot moving, and I really enjoyed sipping my cuppa Joe while the hares quietly had their brekkie… they knew I was no threat. A very cool way to start each hectic race day!
These days, I go out early to pick up the newspaper and there are usually one or two buns on my lawn, watching me watch them, but they seem to know I’m not a threat. Rabbit psychics? I dunno… mebbe!
No, I never did see the point of owning rabbits before … but I do now! Thanks for significantly brightening my afternoon. I hope you and Bam have many happy years of foot-circling and eyebrow-grooming to come.
That’s awesome! I’ve never had a bunny myself, though my parents had one when I was a baby and I’ve seen pictures of me hanging out in Funnybunny’s cage when I was old enough to crawl around with him. Apparently he had quite a fondness for inflated balloons as toys and would carry them around with him.
I love learning the body languages of animals, too. My ex-girlfriend was amazed at how well I could get her dog to respond to me, when she’d only had nominal success with him. It’s just a matter of knowing the language, I told her. I could “talk” to him in a way he understood.
Bambalam (whoa, black bunny…)
*ripsnort*
I had a rabbit, Bunni-Bunni, for 12 years. She was a stray that someone had gotten for Easter and then let her go when they got bored. She also had a floppy ear. She was the best. She would play ball and use a litter box. We would let her out in the backyard for play time. When she was done she would jump back in her cage and close the door. She was the neighborhood bunny. I had a harness and leash for her and we would go for walks. People always stopped us and asked questions or wanted to pet her. I still miss her and am glad I had a chance to have such a wonderful pet for so long.
Wow. I thought that this was so interesting. :) And such pretty pictures too. One of my family members breeds rabbits for a living but she has never studied her charges like that.
I agree completely. Bunnies are THE pet to have.
Also, do you know what breed he is? Perhaps some kind of lop?
Gah! I got the bug again now. Been thinkin of gettin a rabbit for a couple years now once I move into a new apartment. One that allows pets. Needless to say, I get a number of strange responses when saying that to people but I’ve always liked rabbits. And it’s not like my future neighbors would be able to complain about the noise level of a rabbit though taking one out for a walk would likely be a no-go since a lot of people around here like dogs. Rather large dogs…
Ah yes, I too speak lagomorphic. I am heartbroken right now to be living, of financial necessity, in an apt that won’t allow me to keep my sweet Sadie with me, though my mother is bravely learning the ways of the rabbit to keep her safe and happy elsewhere.
I will give a small piece of advice, if you are allergic to cats, you may be allergic to rabbits. Make sure you spend some time with an adult rabbit before you get one.
Aww, that’s so sweet. I have a rabbit myself, and used to raise and show rabbits. They’re entertaining little animals; they’re like incorrigible little two year olds. I just recently lost one of my favorites and it tore me up.
on that last one, I’m pretty sure he’s trying to groom me.
*swoon* :D
Michelle the Red: Yes! Bambalam plays ball too, and also walks on a lead.
Dehka: He’s some sort of dwarf mixed breed, but there’s definitely some lop in him somewhere. The girl we used to have was a silver marten, and so incredibly soft.
And dammit, it didn’t even occur to me that those pics were on a bandwith-limited image hosting service. I shall repost them as soon as I can.
LMFAO. I’ve never seen a rabbit run around a person in circles like a dog. Of course, I never saw a cat (like my big boy Sprawly) force open a closed door.
I didn’t get to see the pictures, but the video is ADORABLE. Both of you.
I get you on the idiosyncratic ways of communication; sometimes I’m disappointed I can’t move my ears around to communicate the way my cats can. Cat language is a bit more widely understood, but I know all animals have their own – my oldest brother was a bird lover, and he had a miniature macaw and watching those two interact was awesome. (Though the stupid bird always did hate me. Once greeted me with “Hey, stupid!” as I walked in the door) Birds are an animal very few people understand as pets, besides just the parakeet stored away in a cage. Most domesticated animals are very affectionate when you bond with them; they just communicate affection in their own ways, which you have to take the time to learn respectfully. And it’s one of the most rewarding things in the world, immersing yourself in someone else’s language so that you can show them how much you love them.
And, fwiw, I got off to a slow start posting topics too, both this year and last :) Seems to take a little while to settle in…