Writes photographer Samantha Starr . . .
Get out of my bag! This
black-tailed jackrabbit actually stole a granola bar package from the pocket of my backpack. When I took it away from him and zipped it inside the bag he tried to find it again. Normally the jacks are extremely shy around people. It was believed that this one had been in a rehab and got used to people and was then released to this park when it was well. It would come right up to people and nibble their shoelaces and nose around in their stuff.
For all thinking he’s too skinny and needs my granola bar, you’re wrong. The jackrabbits always look like that, tall gangly things. The preserve is abundant with lush green foliage, seed pods and grasses that the rabbits eat. He didn’t need people food and he was chewing the plastic packaging which I didn’t want him to ingest. It’s bad for them and illegal to feed wildlife in the preserve. Did you know that when you feed animals food that’s not part of their natural diet it changes the bacteria in their gut so they have trouble digesting the things they normally eat? Not good!
See also the previous posts:
• The Rabbit That’s Actually a Hare
• The Hares of the Americas
• The Mexican Hare
• Tough Dudes
Image: Samantha Starr.
