Is the bunny honeymoon over? Maybe, if you set store by such things. There has been a deepening of the relationship, a maturation, a recognition that each other aren’t perfect but that love abides. Also, there has been a shift in the couple’s power dynamic.
I noticed yesterday evening that Gizmo seemed unusually reticent at feeding time. I was prepping their veggies (parsley, kale, carrot tops, romaine lettuce) from the local farmer’s market, but he wasn’t at the doorway watching me in anticipation. While I do veggie prep, I give a small section of carrot to each bun. Knowing this pattern, the buns hang out in the doorway waiting for their appetizer, dancing around each other and making sure the other hadn’t taken all the goodies. Today Pippin waited in the doorway but Gizmo hung back politely. What was going on with these guys? Was Gizmo learning manners from his new girlfriend? Was this some sort of gentlemanly deference?
As I approached with carrots in hand, Pippin carefully took her piece and trotted across to the other side of the room like a dog with a bone. She is the first rabbit I’ve known who likes to carry things around and deposit them in other places. This is great fun when it’s her toys, not so great when it’s my keys or the TV remote. Gizmo then moved forward and took his piece. He is so overwhelmed by the taste of carrot, he will not move or be distracted, eating the carrot right where it has been dropped. If the house was on fire, Giz would finish his carrot before bothering to check for safe egress. My husband has literally picked Gizmo up and held him like a baby, tummy up, while he fed him a carrot like a bottle. This is the rabbit who really doesn’t like to be picked up and will avoid you like the plague for a month after an attempted pick up event. I guess some things are worth a little humiliation when you are a bunny.
Giz also puts on an amazing display of “banana butt” while he chows down. Banana butt is a relatively new term for me, referring to the phenomenon where a rabbit will shake its butt in happiness when given a most desired treat (usually banana, which is bunny crack). Not all buns will do it. I saw a YouTube video of the behavior and finally accepted it as real, as none of my buns had ever done it in the past, even for a banana treat. There it was, a happy bunny with a rump wiggle! Giz was so much smaller that it was difficult to see it happen, especially with his long coat, but it was there. We had a good laugh over that, it was so cute!
In the midst of his carrot foodgasm, Pippin loped over from where she had finished her appetizer and proceeded to snatch Gizmo’s remaining carrot away. There was a small protest, a trying to grab back some of the treat, and then BOOM... Gizmo was getting humped into submission. No joke. My tiny mini-lop was getting schooled by my gigantic French lop. She literally enveloped him. I stood by in case I needed to intervene. After it was judged that enough justice had been dispensed, she took off with the carrot piece. Gizmo sat dazed and confused for a few minutes, mourning the loss of his food and trying to smooth down his rumpled fur. Well, well then. The pants of the family had somehow been exchanged while I wasn’t looking. The love fest was over, and Pippin had come out on top of the food chain.
A little while later the couple was camped out on the rug grooming each other as if nothing had happened. The honeymoon may be over, but the bunny love remains.
No comments:
Post a Comment