The Intelligent Bunny
Brief Description: The intelligent bunny is unusually smart. It can often be seen watching people. Yep, just blatantly staring and studying your every move. It tends to be extremely alert and it is difficult to catch unaware. The intelligent bunny can act happy, sullen, affectionate, introverted, extroverted, etc, but those emotions are usually a secondary response to something that they have already processed. They are typically straight forward in their nature and are unlikely to "beg" for attention, affection, or even treats.
Chubasco as a junior.
I was fortunate to own an intelligent bunny very early on in my bunny breeding years. He came to us at about 10 weeks. He seemed to be shy and a bit withdrawn, but never mean. As he became accustomed to his new home, he relaxed, but didn't warm up to anyone. That is, until one of our kids "adopted" him. Every day, multiple times a day, visits were taken to the bunny. Sometimes there were treats, sometimes just petting, but always a song - a loud song. At first, I thought that the volume alone would be too much for the little guy. But it soon became apparent that a bond was forming and that these visits were creating both confidence and loyalty.
Chubasco soon became a family favorite. If someone walked through the rabbitry doing routine things, he would just scan the room. However, if he sensed anything unusual was going to happen, he would run to the open door of his cage and put his paws on the door frame. Chubasco spent hours standing in that position watching us build things. He seemed to be particularly interested any time power tools were pulled out, and while some of the other bunnies hid under boxes, he just happily studied our every move.
He was extremely clean and neat and always kept himself well-groomed. He liked his pillow and boxes in certain places, and if we moved them, he would immediately begin rearranging. If you took Chubasco to a new place, he would start out in your lap, then jump down and move a few hops out, then come back. The pattern would repeat with the distance growing incrementally each trip until he decided that the space was big enough. At that point you could just lay down with a book and half-heartedly check on him from time to time. He was going to stay in his pre-determined zone, with you at the center. He was also extremely agile and measured with his movements. He rarely jumped up to the top of a box. Instead, he would jump higher than the box and land neatly and lightly on it.
Chubasco was a rare bunny, and parting from him was extremely difficult. However, we felt that a bunny of his nature should have the joy of living in a home where he was not one in a herd, but rather, a loved pet. We are so thankful to his family for giving him that opportunity!
Our next intelligent bunny came out of our own stock - but I wouldn't say from intelligent type parents. This little guy was only with us for 9 or so weeks, but it was obvious by week three that he had a lot going on between his ears. When Alvey (what he would later be named) was picked up, he didn't struggle at all. Instead, he welcomed the interaction and would just study us as we studied him. And while his sibling was fun and energetic, we saw the same measured manner in him, that we saw in Chubasco. Watch, study, do.
We struggled again with the need to move him into a home, but felt that it was only right to give him the opportunity to bond with one person right off the bat. We were so fortunate that his perfect owner came at just the right time. Alvey could not have gone to a better home. He formed an extremely strong bond with his new owner and is quite happy.
We receive frequent reports and have laughed over his many antics and signs of his intelligence. Alvey likes to sit at the front window and watch the cars, people, dogs, and birds go by - for long periods of time. He follows his owner around from room to room and will sit at her feet or on her lap. He recognizes his name, and different phrases and comes when called. He likes having his own special pillow too.
One of the last intelligent bunnies we owned was Roxy. She was shipped to us from across the country, but was completely unphased by the airplane ride. She hopped right out her carrier and made it clear that not only had she arrived, but that she was very confident. Unlike in the pictures below, Roxy was quite capable of letting her ears drop fully. She just preferred to keep them up so she could listen and keep tabs on what was going on around her.
As she settled into the rabbitry, her favorite thing to do was to stand with her back feet on my lap and her front feet on my arm. She would perch there and watch everything that was going on around her. It became apparent that Roxy wanted to bond with someone, and that she wasn't good at sharing. Anytime we walked into the rabbitry, she would watch to see what we did. If we said her name first, she knew it, and was happy and warm. If we greeted another bunny first, she would pout. If she was the first to get a treat, she was spunky. If she had to wait, she would back into a corner and sit, refusing to come and get it.
It's easy to see that Roxy's behavior could be misinterpreted as anti-social. After all, she sometimes seemed to hold a grudge, or could be unresponsive. But the common thread was there - intelligence. I ran a little test and spent a week focusing on her and greeting her first. It only took a couple days and Roxy bloomed. She was happy, fun and affectionate. She had a fierce loyalty once she was convinced that you loved her.
There were other signs. When we took Roxy to the park, she showed the same behavior pattern that Chubasco did. She would sit smashed up against us on a blanket, run a few paces out, and then come right back. If she returned to find us reading, she would promptly sit on the book and nudge our hands. Clearly, we were supposed to be enthralled with her. She would run and hide behind a tree, but come back to the blanket and check in with us.
Once again, we were faced with the need to find a home where there were fewer bunnies to compete with for attention. Thankfully, Roxy found her new home once we moved out to Arizona.
I hope these three examples have helped to clarify what the Intelligent bunny is like. In the next blog article we will cover the pros and cons of owning an Intelligent bunny, as well as some tips to help make it enjoyable for everyone.
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