recorded 4.29 to 5.1.2025.
***Reminder this happened a year ago so please no tips or criticisms.
The last day I take pictures of Peanut with my camera is April 20. Her 2nd birthday was April 24th so I’d been looking for her, but she was nowhere to be found. Then on the 29th I see a bunny crouched down that I don’t recognize. As I got closer and the bunny didn’t bolt, I realize it’s Peanut! So I pull out an apple slice (I carry them in my pocket when I walk around our yard) and bend down to offer it to her. She slowly hobbles towards me and in an instant I know she is badly injured. My heart shatters. A broken leg is often a death sentence for a wild bunny. I try and keep it together while I’m in front of her, but then break down and sob uncontrollably inside my house. Peanut is my all-time fav wild bunny and I’d just made all these compilation videos to celebrate her 2nd birthday (https://youtu.be/aoBTF_DRed8).
Once I pulled myself together, we started figuring out a plan. We knew a wildlife rehab facility wasn’t an option so we decided to clear out an unused large chicken coop outdoor run. It’s fenced in with chicken wire and would keep her dry and safe. But also confined against her will, so we had to make sure she actually needed it before stressing her further by capturing her and putting her in there. Fortunately, while my other half cleans out the coop and makes it accessible (vegetation had grown over the entrance, etc.), I spend more time with Peanut and she already looks so much better. Her ears are up and she doesn’t look defeated. There’s a light in her eyes again. She has hope! And she gives me hope. I don’t know how long she’d been injured before seeing her…she’d disappeared for 8 days. But seeing me, getting some apple, and knowing we were going to help her gave her the strength to fight and to nibble. She started eating ravenously!
I’ll be sharing her extraordinary healing journey that took place over the next 4 months. She inspired me with her resilience, tenacity, and courage. Over time she became a 3-legged wild bunny who was thriving! Sadly, her journey ended when she became a mama one last time. Pregnancy, nursing, and protecting their babies are all very hard on even the healthiest of mamas. It was too much for our sweet Peanut, but the fact that she was even able to birth and care for babies again is itself a miracle. And you’ll meet her last baby, who I of course named Miracle, later on. But for now, I know it’s sad to know the inevitable outcome, but I didn’t want to keep it from you and have you root for her and get even more invested/attached.
It’s taken me many months to get to a place where I could even write and share about this. Please be compassionate and not second guess or criticize us for what we did. As you’ll see, we took excellent care of her while allowing her to continue to be a wild bunny living in the only home she’s ever known. We spent hours with her each day and brought her nourishing food so she didn’t have to waste energy foraging. We made sure she had a good shelter. And I, a physical therapist, closely monitored her health and healing. I took lengthy recordings of her to observe and document how she was moving and her overall condition. I kept track in a daily diary (that’s over 20 pages!) and she was actually doing well and became really strong. Until…she got pregnant. We did the best we could, be we didn’t stop her from being a mama. Honestly, we didn’t think she’d allow a male anywhere near her and the only male in our yard was/is docile Eggplant so she had to have been very willing. I believe she was. She’s mama Peanut after all and we still miss her like crazy.
Please see this post for more details: https://www.youtube.com/@wildbunnywhisperer/community
Mama Peanut was the inspiration and star of this channel. My first video post was of her birth on 4.25.2022, the first I’d ever witnessed. And then she became such a special bunny. My all-time favorite! All the bunnies born in 2023 were Peanut’s and many are still here, carrying on her lineage. She passed peacefully on 8.12.2024 right in front of our house, a place she hardly ever visited. She wanted to be near us and we were so grateful to spend her last hours with her. We buried her in our yard in her favorite hangout and I visit her daily.
All the bunnies on this channel are eastern cottontails (Sylvilagus floridanus), the most common rabbit species in North America. Chances are high that if you see a wild bunny in your yard, it’s an eastern cottontail.
#healing #WildRabbit #cottontail
source
recorded 4.29 to 5.1.2025.
***Reminder this happened a year ago so please no tips or criticisms.
The last day I take pictures of Peanut with my camera is April 20. Her 2nd birthday was April 24th so I’d been looking for her, but she was nowhere to be found. Then on the 29th I see a bunny crouched down that I don’t recognize. As I got closer and the bunny didn’t bolt, I realize it’s Peanut! So I pull out an apple slice (I carry them in my pocket when I walk around our yard) and bend down to offer it to her. She slowly hobbles towards me and in an instant I know she is badly injured. My heart shatters. A broken leg is often a death sentence for a wild bunny. I try and keep it together while I’m in front of her, but then break down and sob uncontrollably inside my house. Peanut is my all-time fav wild bunny and I’d just made all these compilation videos to celebrate her 2nd birthday (https://youtu.be/aoBTF_DRed8).
Once I pulled myself together, we started figuring out a plan. We knew a wildlife rehab facility wasn’t an option so we decided to clear out an unused large chicken coop outdoor run. It’s fenced in with chicken wire and would keep her dry and safe. But also confined against her will, so we had to make sure she actually needed it before stressing her further by capturing her and putting her in there. Fortunately, while my other half cleaned out the coop and made it accessible (vegetation had grown over the entrance, etc.), I spend more time with Peanut and she already looks so much better. Her ears are up and she doesn't look defeated. There's a light in her eyes again. She has hope! And she gives me hope. I don’t know how long she’d been injured before seeing her…she’d disappeared for 8 days. But seeing me, getting some apple, and knowing we were going to help her gave her the strength to fight and to nibble. She started eating ravenously!
I’ll be sharing her extraordinary healing journey that took place over the next 4 months. She inspired me with her resilience, tenacity, and courage. Over time she became a 3-legged wild bunny who was thriving! Sadly, her journey ended when she became a mama one last time. Pregnancy, nursing, and protecting their babies are all very hard on even the healthiest of mamas. It was too much for our sweet Peanut, but the fact that she was even able to birth and care for babies again is itself a miracle. And you’ll meet her last baby, who I of course named Miracle, later on. But for now, I know it’s sad to know the inevitable outcome, but I didn’t want to keep it from you and have you root for her and get even more invested/attached.
It’s taken me many months to get to a place where I could even write and share about this. Please be compassionate and not second guess or criticize us for what we did. As you’ll see, we took excellent care of her while allowing her to continue to be a wild bunny living in the only home she’s ever known. We spent hours with her each day and brought her nourishing food so she didn’t have to waste energy foraging. We made sure she had a good shelter. And I, a physical therapist, closely monitored her health and healing. I took lengthy recordings of her to observe and document how she was moving and her overall condition. I kept track in a daily diary (that’s over 20 pages!) and she was actually doing well and became really strong. Until…she got pregnant. We did the best we could, be we didn’t stop her from being a mama. Honestly, we didn’t think she’d allow a male anywhere near her and the only male in our yard was/is docile Eggplant so she had to have been very willing. I believe she was. She’s mama Peanut after all and we still miss her like crazy.
Please see this post for more details: https://www.youtube.com/@wildbunnywhisperer/community
Mama Peanut was the inspiration and star of this channel. My first video was of her birth on 4.25.2022. All the bunnies born in 2023 were Peanut's and many are still here, carrying on her lineage. She passed peacefully on 8.12.2024 right in front of our house, a place she hardly ever visited. She wanted to be near us and we were so grateful to spend her last hours with her. We buried her in our yard in her favorite hangout and I visit her daily.
All the bunnies on this channel are eastern cottontails (Sylvilagus floridanus), the most common rabbit species in North America. Chances are high that if you see a wild bunny in your yard, it's an eastern cottontail.
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Thank you for sharing Peanut with us. She was very lucky to have someone concerned and loving enough to help her. We need more wildlife friends like you out there.