Friday bunnyblogging: Noe’s many interests (part 3)

Continuing our series on bunny behavior today- let’s start by looking at the Noe behavior list:

1. gnawing
2. eating
3. exploring
4. frolicking
5. napping
6. pooping
7. digging
8. getting the humans’ attention
9. warning the humans of danger

Looks like we’re up to #3: exploring.

Rabbits are intensely curious creatures. They have poor vision (except for movement), and it seems like this translates into an obsessive need to investigate their surroundings, to see if anything has moved and will become an obstacle in case of the need to escape from raptor attack. While the chance of raptor attack in our apartment is pretty slim, Noe did spend two days with a cockatiel once, so perhaps that heightened her keen instinctual awareness of danger from above (I also hear that the cockatiel was fairly pouty after her bunny-visiting experience, but that’s another story).

So Noe explores. She generally checks her usual escape routes once a day, but when a new object appears, this warrants further investigation.

And there are certain places that she usually has no access to that always warrant investigation. Namely, closets, cupboards, and the laundry room.

She has a routine in the laundry room. Whenever we open the door and she’s nearby, she’ll make a beeline for the doorway. If her way is clear (no feet or laundry baskets in the way), she’ll then hop behind the washing machine. Usually, she’ll make a circuit around the machine, then come out. However, if we’re already calling her to come out, she’ll stay behind the machine, just sitting there, until we poke her to get her to leave. If we give up and don’t call her, she will often come out on her own, thump to get our attention, then scamper back behind the machine again. This is obviously a bunny game.