SASKATOON — As baby hares begin appearing across the province this spring, wildlife experts are urging the public to resist the urge to help, warning that picking them up could do more harm than good.
“These Easter bunnies do not bring eggs, but they do bring joy and lots of questions from the public for us. We would love to get the education about baby hares out there,” says Jan Shadick, CWR, executive director of Living Sky Wildlife Rehabilitation.
Rabbits start with their first litter of four babies pretty early in the spring, with babies generally arriving in early to mid-April.
“However, we received our first pair of baby bunnies … on March 24. They were being picked on by magpies and some well-meaning folks picked them up, just as the snowstorm was arriving. I am not sure how well they would have survived the colder temperatures.”
Shadick says while these baby bunnies are adorable and vulnerable looking, the act of people ‘rescuing them’ can be their death sentence.
“They rely on their mother’s specialized milk for the first four weeks, along with some of her special nocturnal feces for the healthy bacteria, which is very hard to replicate in care.”
LSWR asks the public to call them first before picking up the “Easter Bunny.” If it is not injured, please let it be.
“Mom sneaks in at dusk and dawn to feed them but otherwise does not interact with them so as not to bring attention to them. Their best way of staying safe is to use their camouflage and lack of scent to avoid predators. This works except with humans. Mom is in the vicinity, but hares and rabbits have no defences against predators, so avoiding them is their natural response,” said Shadick.
