THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 7, 1996 TAG: 9604050208
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Coastal Journal
SOURCE: Mary Reid Barrow
LENGTH: Medium: 96 lines
Every Easter, wildlife rehabilitator Debbie Fesko has more bunnies than she can handle.
But they aren't Easter bunnies.
They are wild baby cottontails, often kidnapped from their mothers by well meaning folks who think they are rescuing orphans.
The ``rescuers'' usually come across the tiny rabbits in a shallow nest in the middle of their flower beds or even their lawns. They see the babies, pink and hairless at one or two days old, or fully furred by seven days, but still tiny and helpless, and they don't see the mother.
Please, said Fesko, whatever you do, don't scoop those babies up and call her for help.
``The mother isn't there because the mother is there only once a day,'' Fesko explained. ``The milk is so rich and high in fat that it holds the babies for 24 hours.''
If you really think the rabbits have been abandoned, lay some twigs in a cross over the top of the nest, she suggested. If the twigs are disturbed the next day, the mother has probably returned to the nest for a feeding. Healthy young rabbits will have plump tummies and be a little jumpy around humans, she added.
Well-meaning folks also rescue bunnies when they leave the nest and begin to explore the world beyond, Fesko added. A two-week-old bunny is a tiny thing, but it's doing what comes naturally when it starts poking around in your flower bed or nibbling at the grass. In fact baby bunnies are actually weaned and on their own at six weeks.
``Leave them where they are unless they are in immediate danger,'' Fesko said.
Although Fesko, who works with the Virginia Beach Wildlife Society, specializes in caring for wild rabbits, she wants them only if the animals are truly orphaned or injured. Even if a cat brings one in, put it back out under a bush (unless it's injured) and hope the mother comes back.
If the rabbits are truly orphaned or injured, put them in a dark ventilated box, keep them warm and don't give them food or water. Call Fesko at 463-5861.
Fesko is so adamant about leaving the rabbits in their habitat, if possible, because wild bunnies are very difficult to raise and often don't survive under a rehabber's care. ``They don't like human contact,'' she said.
``Rabbits can actually become sick,'' she added, ``and die of stress.''
Among other difficult behaviors, baby bunnies wiggle and squirm. They have very sensitive digestive tracks. They don't react well to antibiotics and they won't suck on a bottle the way most baby wild animals do.
``We have to drip food in drop by drop,'' she said, ``and sometimes we have to tube feed them.''
So if you do find a nest in your yard or flower bed, Fesko urges that you work around the nest for a few weeks, and keep an eye out for dogs and cats.
``What really bothers me are the people who say, `If you don't come get them, my dog will,' '' Fesko said. ``I feel grateful when I have different animals in my life. If people would just realize the beauty and pleasure of wild animals in their yards, but they think of it as an inconvenience.''
Lest you think Fesko is not serious, here's a statistic for you. Last year , she cared for 75 healthy baby rabbits that should never have been brought to her in the first place.
Wildlife rehabbers are all volunteers and pay for all their supplies with the exception of a few donations. It would really help her and her cohorts if we all did our part, too.
``With just a little bit of effort,' she said, ``we can save a lot of bunnies.''
P.S. MARK YOUR CALENDAR: How to Care for Your Easter Bunny, presented by Kristin Combs of the House Rabbit Society, is a free program from 10 a.m. to noon May 4 at the Central Library.
THE AUTHOR OF THE PETERSON FIELD GUIDE to Eastern Moths, Charles V. Covell Jr., will speak to the Butterfly Society of Virginia at 8 p.m. Thursday at Norfolk Botanical Gardens. Covell, a biology professor at the University of Louisville, will give a slide presentation summarizing his 45 years of studying moths and butterflies. The meeting is free.
A FRIED CHICKEN DINNER will be held from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Friday at Tabernacle United Methodist Church, 1265 Sandbridge Road. The cost is $5 for adults and $2.50 for children. Takeouts will be available.
HUMMINGBIRDS ARE BACK. Sue Barton Harris, who lives on Sandbridge Road, said she saw the first one at her feeder on Wednesday. MEMO: What unusual nature have you seen this week? And what do you know about
Tidewater traditions and lore? Call me on INFOLINE, 640-5555. Enter
category 2290. Or, send a computer message to my Internet address:
mbarrow(AT)infi.net.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARY REID BARROW
Matthew and Debbie Fesko cuddle a 14-day-old wild baby cottontail.
Last year, Fesko, a wildlife rehabilitator, cared for 75 healthy
baby rabbits that should never have been brought to her in the first
place.
by CNB