What is it about rabbits and things-balanced-on-their-heads, I wonder?

Nah, not really. But the bunnycam's back.

Yay!

Nope, mine's still broke, but RealLans has a live BunnyCam too!

Hmm, it seems not to be working. I have a sneaking suspicion that it's the iMac's USB port that's to blame. Today, I shall mostly be taking yon iMac to bits and putting it back together again - hopefully with all the bits in that I took out...

Stand by, Bunnycamfans.

I dunno - I have to laugh at someone who wouldn't take a wild guess and think that maybe rabbits like to chew stuff...

Somebody rescued a Naughty Bunny but forgot to bunny-proof before letting them loose in the computer room.

Now, granted, my bunnies did manage to chew through a flat screen monitor cable (among other things) before we put it out of bunny reach. We kept them anyway though.

(Ta to Andrew for that linkyness)

I'm surprised I'm not getting misguided google hits for this stuff, but here are a couple of amusing bunnycam piccies.

Look at her go...

(that orange thing under the date is a cat)

The bunnies have sculpted a bunny!

(PS and BTW, Happy Red Nose Day! Have you been watching Celebrity Fame Academy? I'm loving that. I was never a big fan of Ruby Wax, but I'm liking her more and more and hope she wins. It's quite heartening to see celebrities gripped by nerves and stage-fright. Still, I'm hugely impressed by Ulrika, Doon and Will. Still want Ruby to win, though.)

The bunnies have a new favourite toy (2Mb mpg).

They wouldn't be hanging out just there.

Although you'd think the bunny hoopla would have put them off the kitchen (1.4mb .asf).

(Please don't think I'm cruel - they are very happy bunnies really and I'm sure they like our games. That said, trying to lure them with a lemon was a bit mean... ;-) )

Isn't that a lovely term for a group of bunnies? Considering the flickiness of them, it's really quite apropos. You could also call them a colony, a nest or a kindle of rabbits. Find more collective names for animals at AskOxford.




(via NicoMorgan)

training for the invasion continues apace. (or 1mb mpeg if you prefer)

Although clearly some rabbits are better at it than others... (1.2mb asf)

Boudicca bunny makes her first appearance on the B3ta boards...

(nice one, "shama" )

Incredibly sporty rabbits over at Bjerner's rabbit hopping page. It's impossible to give direct links to anything, but check out the video in the Rabbit Hopping section. The rest of the site is interesting and is available in both Danish and a charmingly Danish-accented English.

Jahva posted a link to Textism's lovely site and his Oliver a Day feature. It reminded me of Des, my old Weimeraner. Des (named after Des Lynam because he's cool and has grey hair) is still around - he's just living elsewhere these days. Weims are hugely silly and Des once bounced from floor to bed and through the second story window glass. I found some photos of his one year family reunion:

Poor, poor Oolong. So sad, but sweet and touching, nevertheless.

But...

I got home tonight after, um, some pints and realise it's also amusing. Sort of bittersweet... like squishy. That's a good thing, I think...

(via Jahva)

...we'd say, "Oi, rabbits, geroff the table!"

The mystery of the messy, midnight cherry-eaters is solved...

If you're very, very bored, you can watch the rabbits opening their christmas present.

.

From the mad Scaryduck comes Am I PIE or NOT?.

We hope not. :-)

A lovely dog story from the Washington Post: What Dogs Teach Us About People

We're used to living with cats and dogs and most people know what they are and aren't capable of. Living with rabbits is a different experience for me. It really is more like living with a little bit of wildlife in your house rather than pets. In fact, one of my friends thinks it's quite surreal to see rabbits bounding around unfettered. I live in TellyTubby land.

But what's so cool about it is that these silly little critters are actually far more clever than anyone gives them credit for.

Last night we were rather surprised to find 2 half-eaten apples in the kitchen. Now, they normally get sliced-up bits of apple - not whole ones - so it stood to reason that someone (and it wasn't the cat), jumped up on the kitchen table and nicked the apples out of the (glass!) fruit bowl. But why two apples? Clearly one would have be enough for the both of them as both were precisely half-eaten.

It could either be that one bunny did the deed, arrived at the floor with her prize and buggered off down the hall. "Way hey! Looky what I've got!" To which the other bunny replied, "heyyyy, where's mine?" and jumped up and got her own apple. Or could it be that one jumped up and passed two apples down to the sister waiting below?

Either way, I was impressed by the resourcefulness and have placed the fruit bowl much higher out of reach (for what it's worth - being almost empty and all). Of course, I am also getting a clearer picture of how Rhianna broke her leg...

-----
Why do we let the rabbits run free in the house, you ask? Well, they're remarkably clean (if you're not fussy) and are quite good about using a litter-box (again, if you're not fussy - which I'm not). They have way, way more personality than caged rabbits because they are able to display more of their curious nature. They're not especially cuddly - they hate being picked up - but they're definitely friendly. They're actually better at opening doors than the cats - they seem to have a better understanding of the concept of push and pull, even if they aren't as dexterous as the cats are. I like the surrealism and the look on people's face when they first realise that the creature at their feet isn't a cat or dog.

What's best, though, is that I love to see them torment the cats - something they do on a regular basis and seemingly with great glee and intent...

Now I know why my cats look so worried when the rabbits are around.

Disappointingly, my adventures in CSS mean that you dearest Mac peeps can't see my latest photographic extravaganza, "Dances With Bunnies".

You see, I've found that my rabbits appear to like a bit of northern soul and balance on their little butts at my feet when I dance around the kitchen (being careful not to kick them in the head, of course).

So, new nick for me, then...

If the Digital Arts World Film Festival is anything to go by, rabbits are definitely the hot thing in character animation this season. The US Blockbuster ad 'Carl and Ray' from Tippett Studios was one of the funniest things I've seen in ages and featured a rabbit and guinea pig in the starring roles. Besides the cameo appearances all over the shop, bunnies are centre-stage in "The Sexiest Man in Jamaica" and "Bunnies" from Filmakademie (incredibly).

Now, for art from the bunny's perspective, I present the second in our rabbit art series, "installation number six", a collaborative lagomorphic sculpture. Notice the subtle use of texture on the interior of the piece.

1 flat panel monitor cable 2 phone cables 1 extension flex 1 pair wellies 1 pair caterpillar boots 1 bamboo bowl 16 books countless magazines 2 wooden bedside tables 1 irish dresser 3 board game boxes 2 storage boxes 2 baseboards 1 stair step 1 wood paneled pillar

2 wooden dining chairs 1 knapsack 3 towels 1 bathrobe 1 rattan chair seat 3 pairs of trousers 1 nepalese jacket 7 placemats 2 rugs 1 ethernet cable 1 rabbit leg 1 handbag strap 1 jumper 2 speaker cables 1 hoover power cable 1 lavalamp power cable

1 carpet 1 fake plant 2 real plants 2 storage baskets

Just goes to show what you can get away with if you're cute.

Bunny art

A CNN report tells us what any dog-owner knows: dogs have different barks that mean different things. "Dogs usually use high-pitched single barks when they are separated from their owners and a lower, harsher superbark when strangers approach or the doorbell rings...playful woofs are high-pitched and unevenly spaced."

Of course cats do the same. Our Roz has a long and low-pitched rowr that says there's a dead animal on the doorstep (courtesy of Roz) and a frantic yip-yowl that indicates a desperation for the loo. Sicily specialises in tiny kitten sqeaks that she thinks will convince me to part with a table scrap.

Cooler news (although not entirely unexpected) from New Scientist shows that dogs really can count and do basic maths. There have been countless counting dogs and horses on the telly and now lab tests conducted by researchers in Brazil and the UK confirm that it's true - at least in dogs. Apparently a large neocortex and pack-living contribute to this high reasoning ability.

It takes logical thought and spatial awareness to be able to work effectively in a team or manage herds the way wolves and dogs (and loads of other animals) do. The more we know about how animals think, the less we can simply dismiss them as non-sentient, expendable commodities.

Isn't it nice to see a rabbit on the other side of magic for a change?

Rhianna rabbit got her cast off yesterday, though she's still confined to a puppy pen in the bedroom. To celebrate, I've added a page of photos of her in her fetching leg warmers. What kind of person takes 30 pictures of a rabbit in various states of dress and posts them on a website? Probably the same kind that spends more than £500 to fix one of the little bleeder's broken legs. Truly and completely mad...

Letting rabbits have the run of the house is a bit mad, even if I do say so myself. Apparently rabbits are the third most popular pet after dogs and cats, at least in Britain. They seemed so easy - easy to litter train, clean and quiet. Which they are, but they're also destructive, messy and rather fragile. They are definitely litter-trained and as veggies who digest their food twice, they're relatively un-smelly, but they love to drag their food around the kitchen, they shred monitor cables and baseboards and shed a sweater's worth of fur a week.

On the other hand, they're cool because they're kind of mysterious, like you're communing with a bit of the natural world. It's not easy to communicate with rabbits. They don't learn your language like a dog does - you have to learn theirs. You have to understand the subtle positioning of the body that tells you how you rank in their estimation that day, the "flat-bunny" posture that wants stroking or the dreaded flick of the back leg as they turn their back and run away (which means, essentially, "fuck off you vile, vertical oppressor").

I want to learn their language, which, I suppose, is why I put up with them. It seems we're always on the floor with them, perfecting our nose-wiggling to show them we're interested in what they have to say or our bunny head flick that says, "I'm in a good mood!" (except when it says "you're pushing it now"). We're working towards the ultimate bunny statement - the rare and unusual "binky" - that mad dash, leap and twist into the air which means they're as happy as a happy thing in happytown. When you're in on that, you know you've arrived.

A stop-action short called Grosse Gefuhle (Big Feelings). Cute!

Rhianna Rabbit is home, my pockets are empty. Photos and a report to come. I'm trying to get the vets to let me have a copy of the x-ray...

Poor Rhianna Rabbit broke her leg. She probably did it jumping off the dining room table after nicking bits off the jade plant, the little scamp. Note to self: BUY PET INSURANCE. £70 for the X-rays + £300 for setting the bone + £179 later on if we have to amputate (there may be nerve damage).

Good thing she's so cute.