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-Short Attention Span Theater-
Wash. Bunnies Being Eaten by Predators
2007-04-12
EPHRATA, Wash. (AP) -- Most of a group of 20 endangered rabbits that were reintroduced to the wild with great fanfare last month have been killed by predators, state officials said.
Predators eat rabbits, who knew?
Only four of the rabbits released on March 13 remained at the Sagebrush Flat Wildlife Area as of Tuesday, said David Hays, pygmy rabbit coordinator for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. Hays said two males were removed earlier this month and will be returned at the end of April. The other 14 rabbits are believed to have fallen victim to predators, mainly coyotes, but also hawks and owls, Hays said.
"Ah, look at the cute little bunny, kids. Isn't he...."
SWOOP - GRAB - FLAP FLAP flap flap flap flap flap flap flap
"Mommy! Waaaaaaaaa..."
The rabbits, small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, eat sagebrush and are the only rabbits in the United States that dig their own burrows.
Dig faster, Bugs
The Sagebrush Flat Wildlife Area, about 10 miles north of Ephrata, is considered the last native home of the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit. The rabbit was listed as a state endangered species in 1993 and federally protected in 2003.
I guess we know why
The 3,700-acre release site has been watched daily by Fish and Wildlife staff. Several of the rabbits were fitted with GPS monitors. Of the four rabbits remaining at the site, three are females who could be pregnant, officials said. Hays said the rapid decline in population does not doom the multimillion dollar project to return the near-extinct rabbit to its natural environment. More rabbits will be released in the area, and experts are looking for ways to reduce predation. "We're taking it week by week. This is valuable learning time," he said.
Just look at it as job security
Posted by:Steve

#24  D *** ng, so does this mean its NOT NORTH KOREA???
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2007-04-12 23:46  

#23  Not quite true, shipman. Every Ramadan there are recipes posted here. Generally pork.

Thank you, Jackal. For the sake of serenity, I avoided posting a direct rebuttal, but now that you've bravely stepped into the breach, I'll probably have to reward such valor with another round of Ramadan recipes.

PS: Stay tuned. I'm this close to trotting out a whole bunch of other non-pork recipes like I promised back during Ramadan. Say the word, please make a specific recipe request, and I'll coordinate with Rantburg's powers that be to launch another round of culinary curiosities.
Posted by: Zenster   2007-04-12 22:44  

#22  I have an excellant coyote rifle. It's called an AR-15. For the big ones I use a .58 cal. 1862 Richmond Rifle with a 560 grain bullet in front of 60 grains of fffg powder.
Posted by: Deacon Blues   2007-04-12 21:56  

#21  Not quite true, shipman. Every Ramadan there are recipes posted here. Generally pork.
Posted by: Jackal   2007-04-12 21:46  

#20   I had wondered why a GWOT website tolerates comment on gardening, camping and recipes,etc

No recipes here, the Mods would beat the offender about the kidneys with a rubber hose so bad they'd piss blood for a month. Now that said, I think we need a new page for Surviving Peek Oil and Chemtrail Attacks.
Posted by: Shipman   2007-04-12 18:39  

#19  "Rabbit-sized rifles"

Just picked up a new Sako in .17 HMR. Sweetest little rabbit killer you ever saw, and deadly accurate.

It ought to do.
Posted by: no mo uro   2007-04-12 18:16  

#18  I see 4 cookies from LGF, guys, none of which I would classify as "intrusive".

IFSess, IF_SessionCookie1, LizardID, and Monthly are the names. Content varies from the name of the month, the session count, a userID 84-bit hash, and an ASP-like session management ID.

Where's the beef?
Posted by: mojo   2007-04-12 15:50  

#17  This all sounds about as well-thought-out as Germany's intention of reintroducing hamsters into the wild. Fast breeding rodents are a sure way to break new links in the food chain. The biggest problem I see with pygmy rabbits is similar to that Far Side cartoon where a crocodile is laid out on the shrink's couch and saying:

"Doc, you know those little birds that wander around in my mouth and clean my teeth? I've been crunching them down like popcorn!"

Same goes for pygmy rabbits. Probably takes more than a few to make a decent meal.

As for Rantburg, Fred allows only paypal and another non-predatory commercial cookie. Operators of these sites shouldn't have to dip into their hard earned savings. We are well served here.

Hear! Hear! I've been noticing this too, Sneaze. Well said!
Posted by: Zenster   2007-04-12 15:35  

#16  Washington is the same goofball state that saved a baby seal from harm after its mother died, or some such feel good crap and after nursing it back to health released it in the full glare of the tv cameras the press and thousand of sealhuggers. the cute thing was promptly eaten by an orca whale.
and we can't even get our roads fixed but we can spend $$ on this sh!t!
and don't even ask me about the new 3 year septic tank inspection requirements....
Posted by: USN, Ret.   2007-04-12 14:35  

#15  Speaking of predators: I give up on Little Green Footballs. I usually go there once a day to read if Johnson has something that I haven't already read at Rantburg and Jihad Watch. However, someone posted a link here concerning slow loading and down time at some non-idiotarian websites. I set my browser on cookie "prompt" and learned that LGF will NOT load unless the access seeker allows 8 spy cookies, some of which are highly intrusive. That is all for profit, as are his music links that Johnson suggests are posted for entertainment. I had wondered why a GWOT website tolerates comment on gardening, camping and recipes,etc and it is obvious that it is all about getting page-views which translate to big bucks from spammers and legit businesses. I clear out the cookie tray, after each daily visit to LGF, otherwise browsing is slowed by at least 20%.

As for Rantburg, Fred allows only paypal and another non-predatory commercial cookie. Operators of these sites shouldn't have to dip into their hard earned savings. We are well served here.
Posted by: Sneaze   2007-04-12 14:05  

#14  "Buzzards gotta eat same as worms." The Outlaw Josey Wales
Posted by: Deacon Blues   2007-04-12 13:36  

#13  In order to save them, we had to kill them. Heard that before.
Posted by: Sneaze   2007-04-12 12:55  

#12  Why should pygmy rabbits (or any other kind) have more of a right to live than predators? If the predators don't eat rabbits or other prey, they die. Who gets to decide that one species is more important than another? Isn't that being species-ist?
Posted by: Rambler   2007-04-12 12:32  

#11  "...the only rabbits in the United States that dig their own burrows."

So they're Republican rabbits. The rest are Democrat rabbits who sit on their lazy asses and wait for the government to come around and dig their burrows for them.

Posted by: Dave D.   2007-04-12 12:04  

#10  David Hays, pygmy rabbit coordinator for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

He's a pygmy? That's kinda harsh. I thought they liked "little people"?
That being said, I guess there will no longer be a need for David's hack position at Fish and Wildlife?
The Circle of Life, David. The Circle of Life...
Posted by: tu3031   2007-04-12 11:29  

#9  They sure dug the hell out of the hill behind my house. They coyotes and eagles ate well, but the damn rabbits bred as fast as they were eaten.
Posted by: DarthVader   2007-04-12 10:23  

#8  DV -- Technical point. Saying that cottontails live in burrows is not the same thing as saying that they dig their own burrows.
Posted by: Tibor   2007-04-12 10:19  

#7  experts are looking for ways to reduce predation

Rabbit-sized rifles.
Posted by: JFM   2007-04-12 10:15  

#6  20 pygmy rabbits
multimillion dollar project

The coyotes had better enjoyed it. That's more expensive than Kobe beef.
Posted by: ed   2007-04-12 10:12  

#5  More rabbits will be released in the area, and experts are looking for ways to reduce predation.

Good luck with that. I think they're serving up the all-you-can-eat lunch buffet to the coyotes.
Posted by: Steve White   2007-04-12 10:06  

#4  Well, this is a harey situation.

Rabbits are native to North America. We have several species.
And bullshit to the Only Rabbits that dig their own burrows. Numbnut journalist needs his editor do to more fact checking.
For starters
Posted by: DarthVader   2007-04-12 10:00  

#3  JFM, I believe you're thinking of Australia.
Posted by: Rambler   2007-04-12 08:37  

#2  the only rabbits in the United States that dig their own burrows.
Bullsh*t. You should see my back yard. Notice to predators: come to my house for an all-you-can-eat rabbit buffet!
Posted by: Spot   2007-04-12 08:36  

#1  I thought rabbits were not native to America. Am I wrong?
Posted by: JFM   2007-04-12 08:28  

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