Something I've never seen before

[mstuhr]

Howdy,
I just returned from a trip to town and was going to check e-mail when the dog started barking at the window. He barks a lot but was really getting after it.
I went to see what the problem was and two young rabbits were chasing a crow out in the yard.
The rabbits would mount a charge and the crow would take to the air about three feet above the ground with the rabbits on trail.
The rabbits would stop and the crow would fly ahead maybe twenty yards or so and put down and the pair of rabbits would mount another charge.
This went on for quite a while and I think the crow was enjoying himself.
I'd have given anything for a video camera, it was quite a show.
I have never seen rabbits go after anything before. ??????? I wonder what they would have done if they caught it?
Thanks and good morning all!
Mike

 

[DeathGrip]

When I meet my Wife she had a rabit that would chase her dog all over,kinda like you describe. {85# Dog} I think the rabit really was the one having the fun.

 

[Clayton]

Somewhere on youtube there is a video of a rabbit getting after a snake.

In high school I had a friend that had a giant lop eared rabbit. I think that was the bread name. Anyway, he lived on a corner and had a chain link fence. The rabbit lived in the back yard with his dog. The dog chased every car that turned on the street. Soon the rabbit started doing it. After the dog died, we would sit in his back yard and watch the rabbit chase cars by himself. He looked proud of himself after he chased one.

 

[jag312]

You have to be careful with those rabbits. I think they might be related to the killer rabbit that attacked Jimmy Carter.

 

[RonJ]

Rabbits can be very playful, I guess the crow decided to join in the fun. I love watching that kind of stuff.

 

[Clayton]

Here's the rabbit vs. snake

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ez5QPW-ku4

 

[feralmerril]

I would bet they had a nest of young nearby and were protecting them!

 

[mstuhr]

Originally posted by jag312:
You have to be careful with those rabbits. I think they might be related to the killer rabbit that attacked Jimmy Carter.

Hi Jag312,
That is right. I forgot about that and have laughed about it often over the years.
Thanks
Mike
Thanks too to Clayton,
Great video,
I've never seen a rabbit tree a big snake before either. WOW!

 

[truckemup97]

Maybe they were man eating rabbits.

 

[Jeb Stonewall]

Originally posted by feralmerril:
I would bet they had a nest of young nearby and were protecting them!

GIVE THAT MAN A CIGAR!

I'd put money on them (the rabbits) having a nest nearby.

 

[wheelgun1958]

Death awaits you all with big, nasty, pointy teeth!

 

[rocketdog]

Originally posted by Jeb Stonewall:

Originally posted by feralmerril:
I would bet they had a nest of young nearby and were protecting them!

GIVE THAT MAN A CIGAR!

I'd put money on them (the rabbits) having a nest nearby.

The only time I've seen something like this, it was an adult rabbit trying to stop a crow from taking a young rabbit. Rabbit chased the crow around two yards, but the crow finally got the young rabbit and flew off with it.

 

[NCTexan]

msturh.... This is a real coincidence! I think that I know what was going on at your place.

Last week my daughter called me, in a highly agitated state. She lives on a pretty busy road in Oak Park, IL.

She had glanced out of her window and saw a rabbit 'going crazy' in the area between her sidewalk and the street. A crow was darting at the rabbit, and the rabbit would parry every move that the crow would make.

Then a second crow joins the action, and it became obvious what was going on. The rabbit was trying to defend it's nest located under a nearby bush.

The second crow distracted the rabbit and the first grabbed a baby rabbit.... and flew to the roof right below the window where my daughter was standing. She grabbed her camera in time to capture the sequence below.

I posted two pics.. but the final picture was a little "too graphic" to post here on "a family forum".

The second crow grabbed the last baby and had a meal on the sidewalk.

And that children, is the sad Story of Peter Rabbit.

 

[Jack Flash]

Crows will go after ducklings, baby birds, anything. They are preditors as well as carion eaters. I was out shooting crows once and had to pass up an easy shot as the crow was flying low to the ground with a pair of killdeer flying right behind. I like killdeer, so that overcame my hatred of crows.

Rabbits are extremely playful. I knew a guy who had a little Chihuahua that would frolic with rabbits in his backyard every time the dog went out. He said that the rabbits would actually come to his back door (a glass slider) and stand on their hind legs, making squeaking sounds, for the dog to come out and play!

 

[s&wchad]

Originally posted by wheelgun1958:
Death awaits you all with big, nasty, pointy teeth!

"I've done it again!"

Link:

 

[Clayton]

I was waiting for that Chad. Normally Moondawg is our Monty Python expert.

 

[FirebirdV8]

Reminds me of the "attack" rabbits we have out here in Northern Arizona. They will run out on the road right infront of your car. Sometimes they seem to aim right for your front tire. Most of the time they make it, but sometimes their attacks don't go so well.

 

[ohiobuckeye]

Evidently, some rabbits will put up a fight. When I lived on the edge of town bordered by a mix of woods and pasture, there was a couple of fairly large tame rabbits that wandered around our lawns most of one summer. Probably escaped or turned out by someone tired of feeding them and cleaning cages. They wouldn't take off running when you got close to them, but they wouldn't let you get close enough to touch them or pick them up and they would stay just beyond arms reach.
Early one morning, one of the rabbits was peacefully munching grass in my neighbors front lawn while another neighbors cat was trying to sneak up on him. The cat was crouched into the grass and in typical cat fashion, was slowly sneaking across the lawn a few feet at a time, until he got to about 20 feet from the rabbit and charged like a freight train. The surprise came when the rabbit swapped ends at the last second, and with perfect timing, kicked the cat in the head with both hind legs and rolled it ass over appetite about six feet across the lawn. The cat came up facing the rabbit and they stared at each other for at least a full minute before the cat decided he didn't want to try that again and took off for easier pickings. During the entire fracas, the rabbit never tried to run away and never even moved from the spot it was originally grazing. Both rabbits disappeared sometime that fall, so I guess their luck finally ran out and dogs or hunters got them. While they were around, the neighbors cat kept his distance from them and never bothered them again. Wish I could have gotten a video of the "Kung Fu Bunny" kicking the crap out of that cat.

 

[jeffj13]

The administration just issued a report that global warming is the reason for the rabbits behavior.

jeff