Number of rabbit sightings hopping in work-from-home era

Caitlin Raynorrecently found herself fostering and hand feeding 19 bunnies from Holly's Haven Wildlife Rescue.

That's part of a noticeableincrease in calls over injured and abandoned rabbits.

Through rehabilitation, Raynor's since managed to bring the number of bunny mouths to feed down to a "manageable" seven.

"Rehabbers all over North America, and I think the U.K. as well, are having some pretty extreme numbers," the volunteer said. "This year and last."

The wildlife rescue, based in Dunrobin, Ont., had 23 eastern cottontail rabbits in its care as of earlier this week. Still, Raynor said it's difficult to tell whether the increase in calls is due to a surge in population numbers or if more people are simply noticing rabbits while working from home.

"We're letting our dogs out in the backyard, perhaps for longer periods of time during the day," she said. "One of the most common reasons I'm seeing for bunnies being found in people's backyards is dogs finding nests."

• With the humans away, the animals come out to play

Calls aboutwildlife on the rise

Calls about all sorts of animals have increased, she said, which makes her think more people are simply noticing backyard critters.

In Ottawa, rabbit populations include two species: brown eastern cottontails and snowshoe hares, which turn white during the winter, says biologist Michael Runtz.

He suspects most sightings are of cottontails.

"And like most small mammals, these guys are cyclic, which means that they have years of low population and years of high population," said Runtz, who teaches natural history at CarletonUniversity. "So it is natural to have some years where there are more around and this could well be one of those years."

But like Raynor, Runtz thinks any increase could be tied to people staying home.

According to the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources, hare populations peaked in 2007 in most of the province.

Data collected through pellet monitoring indicates populations may be increasing in central and northeastern Ontario, but overall, it says the cyclic nature of hare reproduction is less predictable the farther south you look.

"We did notice earlier in the pandemic that people thought they were seeing more wildlife when in fact they were just home during the day (rather than at work)," a ministry spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

"It was a case of increased sightings, not increased populations."

In terms of calls to Ottawa bylaw, about 2,215 injured animals were logged between April 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020. In 2020 and 2021, the first full year of the pandemic, 2,656 calls were logged.

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Raynor said people shouldn't assume that because they've found bunnies left on their own, that the mother has abandoned the nest.

It's also important to check one's lawn before bringing out the mower.

"We're getting a lot of calls for, you know, dogs finding nests, cats finding nests, people mowing over them," she said.