Watership Down

There is a lot of wildlife around UC Merced. We have ground squirrels, regular squirrels, chimpmunks, egrets, herons, bobcats, and bunny rabbits. The bunnies are my favorite. They are really little. Even as adults, they are about as big as you would expect a baby bunny to be. An adult could cup them in both of their hands. The babies that are around in the spring are so tiny that a little child could cup them in their hands.



After overcoming my fear that they might all be rabid (lasting effects of working at CDC) I decided to work on figuring out how close I could get to them. I didn't have much luck until I got a pair of sunglasses. I didn't get them to help me better approach bunnies, but it has made the biggest difference. I think that since the bunnies can't see your eyes, they think that you aren't looking at them. Then as long as you don't walk directly towards them, they don't think that you pose any threat to them so you can get quite close.

If I were a bunny, I would want to live at UC Merced too. There is a big hill right next to a pond that is absolutely riddled with bunny holes. It seems like a scenic place to live and there is a lot of grass and clover all around. I have watched them eat the clover and unlike Thumper, they seem to prefer the green part to the blossums... but maybe they are just responsible.