S he appeared suddenly one day in our backyard garden – I called her White Bunny - during the recent season when the guavas on the top branches, out of reach for me, were dropping to the ground. She had beautiful cream colour fur along with lovely deep, dark eyes and adorably short, upright ears making her so loveable. However, not being sure whether she is wild or domesticated, I used to keep a safe distance from her. An online search suggested she could be a Netherland Dwarf (or a similar dwarf cross) rabbit.
She used to devour the fallen guavas, eating with so much relish that it was a real treat to watch. And when she was bored of the fruit, she would forage for low hanging leaves from the young trees in our backyard or nibble at the grass from our lawn – she used to give the “miss” to the leaves of the chilly plants, but tried her best to reach the leaves of the strawberry plants which were in taller pots and out of her reach, even standing on her hind legs. Once in a while, she used to come and sit expectantly at our back door, watching me with a hungry, pleading eye – at those times, I used to take pity on her and give her a piece of carrot, cabbage or biscuit, which she would grab with glee and bound off to her favorite corner of the yard to finish it off. I used to spot her late in the evenings, taking rest under the tree with her eyes closed and even nodding off after a meal during the afternoons.
It was difficult to know where she went to sleep in the night since she wasn’t to be seen most of the mornings until about 10 am when she came running in from somewhere – though I did see her a couple of times coming in during the day from under the neighbor’s fence. After a few weeks, when the guavas on the ground reduced, her search for food started to expand into the lawns in front of our house and out in the council nature strips, exposing her to the danger of moving cars. And her expectant sit downs at our backdoor became more frequent, though I didn’t oblige her so much, wanting her to remain self-sufficient. Her stay within our compound started reducing and becoming occasional visits during the day.
Though I was keeping my distance from her, just as she was doing so from me, a moment of true connection eventually came. One afternoon, I found her in a bit of distress trying to dislodge a plastic tape which had somehow got stuck to her whiskers. After watching her for some time, I approached her cautiously; to my surprise, she stayed still, allowing me to gently peel the tape from her whiskers. But the moment she was free, she bounded off without a backward glance—showing her true, independent colors!
Soon after, White Bunny brought another beautiful companion into the backyard, who I called Grey Bunny due to his classic blue-grey coat. His fur was more textured or plush compared to White Bunny and had a very distinct white ring around his eye, giving a bright, wide-eyed expression. It was obvious that they were a bonded pair and he was courting the young lady and she was falling for his bold looks and affectionate moves. And there were some stirring moments where both the bunnies were nuzzling and sniffing each other to get into more serious stuff- although, no such thing happened in front of my eyes. Grey Bunny also used to devour the guavas; however, it was a more mature way of consumption than the gobbling ways of White Bunny. My thoughts were already on the implications of this courtship and how to manage the litter of kittens to follow, in the short gestation period of 30 days. Also, I was scouting around my backyard and front yard looking for any sign of burrows in preparation – luckily didn’t find anything. But then, as quickly as he arrived, Grey Bunny disappeared after 2 days from the scene and never returned. Not sure what happened there. One guess was that he got what he came for and now went searching for greener pastures...
White Bunny returned to her solitary routine and seemed quite content in life with all the foraging she was doing around the house and nearby nature strips with an occasional guava on the ground or a treat of carrot or cabbage from me. I was happy to let her be, enjoying our quiet co-existence.
But as they say, all good things must come to an end. One morning when I opened the window shutter and looked outside for White Bunny, I didn’t find her and I thought to myself, she is away foraging. But when I sat down for breakfast and looked outside again, I had the shock of my life seeing in the distance under a tree, a bundle of white with spots of red…suddenly I remembered the smug look of the neighborhood feral cat who was slinking away from the backyard that morning - I rushed outside to the tree, and my worst fears were confirmed – it was indeed the lifeless body of the adorable White Bunny lying in a pool of blood with one of the ears missing – had to search a bit to find that.... The scene was gruesome—nature is beautiful, but it can be devastatingly cruel.
As I stood there, trying to compose myself, the last few weeks flashed through my mind: the initial fear of a wild animal, the playful antics, the pleading looks, and that one moment of shared trust... I realized then that nature had simply taken its course, yet the tragedy felt heavy because it had happened within the sanctuary of my own home. She was a small creature, but she left a very quiet, very empty space behind.