They
will be gone for good if they escape no matter how tame they are because
they have no sense of home, eat anything (love thistles, rose bushes,
and pine trees) and travel 20 miles per day.
Anecdotes:
When I caught her, she still had her umbilical cord so was probably less
then 2 days old, yet she screamed lots and struggled before she gave up
and huffed at me. She was hamster sized, had fur and teeth (WJRs are born
that way). A few days later I had to leave for 3 days and my roommate
took care of her. When I came back, this 10 day old bunny was the size
of a small adult rabbit and she attacked me as a stranger! She would run
so fast she would trip on her own legs and do several somersaults in a
row. She put her front legs straight out and her chest against the floor
but her butt in the air as a challenge to fight just like a dog would
do. She loved playing tag and would even do the tagging and run away and
get ticked if you did not chase her after ignored her tagging you a few
times. To give you an idea how big she was, most parts of her body were
a foot long (ears, wrist to elbow, elbow to shoulder, chest cavity, bottom
of ribs to hip, hip to knee, knee to ankle, back feet). I could comfortably
put her front legs over my shoulders while her back feet were on the ground
and waltz with her (and I am 5'10" or 175 cm). WJRs from Canada are the
second biggest lagomorph in the world (arctic hares are a bit bigger).
With all the milk replacer I fed her 3-4 times a day for 4 weeks when
they are normally weaned in 2-3 days and only nursed 1-2 times a day likely
accounts for some of her incredible size. I had to leave her with my parents
for 2 weeks in February and a day before I came to get her, she destroyed
the rabbit hutch in their back yard and escaped for good. She was 9 months
old and likely in heat. My parents are quite sure they saw her on occasion
over the next 3 years and sometimes pregnant but they could never get
close.
Do they
have scent glands or a smell?
None I could smell
How long
do they live?
About 10-15 years
Do they
enjoy interaction?
They are not interested in being petted much but love playing games and
wrestling.
What
is their general personality, disposition, attitude?
They are very self assured and think they can do anything. I've seen wild
ones taunting coyotes and red foxes to try to get them to give chase but
the canines ignore them because they know they do not have a chance. Compared
to a rabbit, WJRs are quite vocal making lots of grunts and huffing with
enough expression, you know exactly what they are trying to tell you.
My girl would sometimes try to open door knobs with her front paws and
make all sorts of grunts of frustration at her inabilities.
Are they
sweet and petable, or mischievous and playful?
Definitely the mischievous, playful, Bugs Bunny type (I'm sure Bugs would
be a WJR in real life)
How destructive
are they for an average household?
Not as bad as I would have thought, they do not chew on anything but leaves
and fruit but that includes silk plants and plastic fruit! You cannot
have anything on top of dressers or it will get knocked over, house plants
are not possible. Before litter training, pee spots are almost permanent
and very dark red/brown with white calcium deposits. They never completely
learn to poo in the right place but it is always hard, pea sized and dry.
Do they
climb, tear up furniture, etc.?
They can jump and climb just about anywhere. They will damage the top
of sofas from jumping on top then digging at the top with dog-like claws
where they want to sit. We put a piece of rug where she liked to sit to
protect the sofa.
Are there
any problems associted with their claws?
Yes, they are quite similar to a dogs, and can be destructive
How messy
are their droppings?
Dry, hard, and pea sized. They are not messy but we were still finding
them 3 years after she was gone.
Can they
be trained?
Yes. As a loose pet, she would get into things she shouldn't and very
quickly learned "NO" and "Get-outa-there" with a gentle flick on the nose
or by picking her up and moving her. I showed her pee and said "PEE" oftain
and if in the wrong place said "PEE-NO" then soaked up some while she
watched and put her and the wet tiolet paper in her litter and said "PEE-GOOD"
and pet her. The tag game is natural and I have seen wild ones do it to
each other in groups of 10-20 usualy after midnight (and the rest of the
time they live alone). I could tell she felt guilty for pooing in the
wrong place but I think they have less control of poo as the wild ones
never leave more then a half dozen in one place so they must come out
with every hop! Other natural moves that I encouraged with commands and
hand signals were WALK on back feet, DANCE in circles, JUMP through hoola
hoops, STAY or SIT in one spot and go IN her cage. I think she knew quite
a bit of English and oftain surprised me when it looked like she understood
what we were talking about so we would have to spell certain words to
be sure. I am possitive that if I actualy spent time training, I could
have gotten her to do anything you could train a dog to do (within physical
limitations of course)
How are
they with other pets, larger and smaller?
They act viciously to small animals (jump on them and paw them with the
front feet) but they seem to ignore bigger animals like dogs so I think
they would be fine (did not have dogs myself then)
What
size cage do they need?
Rabbit hutch works (they can crawl through very small holes) but is cramped
for height and one small hop for her was about 5 feet so a big enclosed
dog run would be better. In the house, I put her in a small dog cage to
sleep and loose in certain rooms when supervised.
What
is the best diet for them?
Rabbit food and timothy hay. Some vegetables and fruit are fine too (Bananas
are favorite even frozen). She never had soft poo except the ones she
ate and even they were firm-they are supposed to eat the soft ones)
What
vaccinations/vet care do they require?
Spaying and neutering is strongly recommended. They are believed to be
immune to the domestic rabbit diseases so vaccinations would not be recommended
unless you also have domestic rabbits who may come in contact with the
WJR.
At what
age would it be best to get one?
1-2 days old (they should have at least 2 nursings to get antibodies from
mom) Moms do not reject babies if they have been human handled and the
babies are prepared to be on their own from birth if mom does not show
up again anyways.
