by Inger Giuffrida, executive director, WildCare Oklahoma
Photos courtesy of WildCare Oklahoma
Spring means baby season for wildlife. Every few weeks, WildCare Oklahoma admits new species.
Early spring is dominated by an influx of orphaned or injured baby eastern fox squirrels and Virginia opossums. By April, those babies are joined by many species of baby songbirds and raptors (primarily owl and hawk species) and northern raccoons. Striped skunks, white-tailed deer, and other mammal and bird species start to arrive in May.
Sad Ending for Throwaway Pets
No two species say “spring” quite like eastern cottontails (rabbits) and ducklings. One reason is their association with the Christian holiday of Easter. Ducklings come from eggs, which are ancient symbols of life. Cottontails, because they are prolific procreators, have historically been associated with new life. As symbols of life and new life, bunnies and ducklings — along with chicks — enjoy a celebrated status in the later part of March and throughout April. And cottontails and ducklings have domestic counterparts.
Because baby rabbits, ducklings, and chicks are inexpensive to purchase, people commonly give them to children for Easter. Cute photo opportunities on Easter morning, however, often end up with unnecessary suffering and unhappy endings for the animals. Rabbits, chicks, and ducks
are commonly surrendered shortly after the spring holiday. WildCare Oklahoma and local animal shelters receive hundreds of calls from people who want to get rid of these “pets.”
Many people do not even try to responsibly rehome the animals but abandon or dump them. Seeing the wild counterparts of rabbits and ducklings, people wrongly assume that the domestic species can “just live in the wild.” They cannot and should not. Most die. Those that survive might end up creating feral colonies that can interfere with native wildlife species.
Rabbits, ducks, and chickens are big commitments. They can live 10 years or longer with proper care. Like any pet, they require special food, housing, enrichment, and veterinary care. Without proper attention and care, they can become aggressive and destructive. For example, rabbits will mark their territory with urine if they are not spayed or neutered. Many rabbits given on Easter are housed outside. For most domestic rabbit species, temperatures above 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29.4 degrees Celsius) — a relatively “cool” summer day in Oklahoma — increase the risk of heat stroke and death.
Bringing a pet into the family needs to be an informed decision — not an impulse purchase for a holiday. Fill Easter baskets with stuffed animals and chocolate bunnies or learn about and enjoy their native counterparts instead.
Rabbits in Oklahoma
Rabbit species are found on every continent except Antarctica. Although not native to Australia, they were introduced there in the nineteenth century for hunting. Oklahoma has two native species of rabbits — eastern cottontails and swamp rabbits — and one species of hare, the black-tailed jackrabbit.
Eastern cottontails. By far the most common rabbit species in Oklahoma and ranging from southern Canada to South America, eastern cottontail rabbits can be seen throughout the state and have adapted to living in urban and suburban yards. Smaller than their domestic counterparts, they commonly eat grasses, dandelions, clover, and garden plants. They are crepuscular and thus are most active and commonly observed at dawn and dusk.
In spite of their short life spans, female eastern cottontails can produce many offspring. They can have from one to 12 kits, with an average of five per litter, as many as four to six times a year. Although babies are born hairless and with their eyes shut, they are usually fully developed and ready to leave the nest three weeks later.
Cottontails often build nests in shallow depressions in the ground, covering their babies with grass and their own fur. For many property owners, cottontail nests often end up in inconvenient locations — in the middle of the yard and often discovered while mowing or by dogs. Cottontails return to their nests at dusk and nurse their babies then and at dawn. Often, people will discover a nest of baby cottontails and assume they are abandoned because the mother does not seem to be nearby. Commonly, she is close by but out of sight, grazing to consume enough calories to produce the milk required for her babies.
Cottontails are an essential part of the food web — all predator species, including humans, hunt and consume them. They are not, however, defenseless. They have excellent vision, hearing, and sense of smell, giving them the ability to anticipate threats. Cottontails also run fast and zigzag as they go, making them harder to catch. When cornered, they can use their powerful back legs to deter attack.
Swamp rabbits. Commonly, swamp rabbits are found by water — marshes, floodplains, forests, and sloughs. They are most commonly found in southeastern Oklahoma.
Black-tailed jackrabbits. The hares known as black-tailed jackrabbits inhabit western Oklahoma, preferring low, brushy, open land.
Ducks in Oklahoma
Oklahoma has more than 20 species of ducks. Ducks are commonly divided into two groups — dabbling ducks and diving ducks.
Diving ducks are omnivores and have large feet attached to short legs at the back of their bodies — awkward for walking on land but excellent for propelling themselves underwater. In Oklahoma, common diving ducks include buffleheads, ring-necked ducks, ruddy ducks, redheads, canvasbacks, mergansers, and others.
Dabbling ducks have small feet attached to legs in the middle of their bodies. They eat while paddling atop the water, enjoying plants, insects, and fish on or just below the surface of the water. Dabbling ducks can dive but prefer not to. A dabbling duck often tips the front half of its body into the water, with its tail sticking out of the water. Common dabbling ducks are mallards, gadwalls, wood ducks, and teals.
All ducklings hatch from eggs and spend 50 to 60 days with their mothers until they are fully fledged and can live independently. As such, a duckling by itself needs help and should be taken to WildCare Oklahoma or another wildlife rehabilitator.
Ducks can be observed in any body of water throughout the state, including temporary bodies of standing water created by intense rainfall.
Enjoy the renewal of spring by observing the wildlife around you. It can be a wonderful way to experience the joy that animals bring without the costly commitment of owning a baby rabbit or duckling.
