Bunnyfesto

 Domesticated animals try to communicate with you -- and most are good at it. But if you become interested in a wild animal, such as the Eastern Cottontail, the burden is on you to learn its language. 

We have watched videos. We have observed. We have learned.

Rabbits are territorial. They will claim land. They will also observe and listen. Rusty believes that I claimed the front lawn and forbid it to go there (I was trying to ask it to move, not to leave forever). I still hope to explain otherwise. We had snow today and I uncovered the part of the front lawn where Rusty was sitting on that August day. I still hope to tell it that it's okay to go on the front lawn.

The coming weekend will be warmer and we hope to see rabbits. 

We will use what we have learned.

We have learned from the Bunny Lady's guide to Rabbit Body Language.

Here's a pet rabbit that knows when its owner has another fever.

Predator animal pets like you to be excited. Prey animals are worried that you will turn into a predator. They have empathy. Notice how the bunny in this video is happy to see the woman that feeds it when she's happy, and steps away (after taking a last piece of apple) when she gets upset (because of a weird sound from her air conditioner).

The YouTube channel @Hop Notch has some very persuasive videos including one, "Do Rabbits Think Humans are Rabbits?" which says that in order for rabbits to remain in your presence and be comfortable, they have to invent a new category of creature that is outside their instincts: a being that could hurt them but chooses not to do so.

We don't feed the rabbits. So relating to them -- staying in their presence and talking calmly while respecting their boundaries and taking photos -- requires a lot from rabbits. It's scary to be a rabbit. They spend almost every moment of their lives in fight-or-flight fear mode. 

We choose to try to give them a safe space, but we cannot make it safe for them. It's like the rabbi who befriended stray cats. Rabbits read our energy and are calm when you are calm. They teach us to be calm. There's a lot to learn from rabbits.