Did Neanderthals go extinct because they couldn’t learn to catch rabbits?

On March 6, 2013March 3, 2013 By A.P.In Bunny, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, extinction, France, human, Hunting, John Fa, Nature, Neanderthal, New Scientist, rabbit, Science, SpainLeave a comment

snow-rabbit Neanderthals1

Neanderthals became extinct as they were unable to adapt their hunting skills to catch small animals like rabbits, a new study has claimed.

For the study, John Fa of Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in Trinity, Jersey, and his colleagues counted skeletons of animals that were found in three excavation sites in Spain and southern France.

The team found that up until 30,000 years ago, the skeletons of larger animals like deer were plentiful in caves.

But around the same time, coinciding with Neanderthals’ disappearance, rabbit skeletons became more abundant.

The team postulated that humans succeeded far more at switching to capturing and eating rabbits than Neanderthals, New Scientist reported.

Fa said that it is still not clear as to why Neanderthals had trouble changing their prey.

He said that maybe the Neanderthals may have been less able to cooperate and rather than using spears, early humans probably surrounded a warren and flushed out rabbits with fire, smoke or dogs.

http://www.phenomenica.com/2013/03/inability-to-catch-rabbits-may-have-led-to-demise-of-neanderthals.html

Giant bunny scares burglar from home

On February 25, 2013February 23, 2013 By A.P.In British Giant rabbit, Bunny, burglar, Crime, Devon, giant bunny, giant rabbit, Human Behavior, Kimberley May, Martin May, Nature, Nick Bloom, Olivia May, Plymouth, rabbit1 Comment

giant-rabbit
A petrified burglar fled a family home in the middle of the night – after coming face-to-face with their giant pet rabbit Toby.

Kimberley May, her fiance Martin, and their three-year-old daughter Olivia were all sound asleep when the thief broke into their house. But as the raider rifled through cupboards the noise woke up Toby the family’s British Giant bunny in his kitchen cage. The 4.5kg, two-feet long pet began stomping so loudly on the floor that the intruder was caught on the hop and left.

Kimberley said: “We went to bed on Wednesday at about 10pm. In the early hours of the morning Toby our rabbit did five loud thumps. “I sort of half woke up then realised he’d stopped and went back to sleep. When I went downstairs every single cupboard and drawer were open, there were bits out everywhere, then we started noticing things were missing and we phoned the police.”

Kimberley, a nurse, is convinced that two year-old Toby’s thumping scared the thief off from their house in Plymouth, Devon. She found a hoard of items left piled up on the sofa which she thinks the burglar was preparing to take but left behind.

She added: “Because of Christmas and my birthday just gone, I had loads of gift sets and perfumes that they’d laid out across the sofa. “We think that when the rabbit thumped it scared the burglar off and they left all the stuff they were going to take. He’s like a little dog, if you whistle him he comes. The rabbit was just traumatised in his cage, shaking. He’s usually really friendly but he tried to go for the policeman.”

The crook still managed to get away with other valuables including a treasured First World War medal that belonged to Kimberley’s great-grandad. Kimberley added: “They managed to take a laptop, an iPad and my handbag with my purse and everything in, but the worse thing was my great granddad’s medal. My gran actually died in 2007, she lived in a council house all her life, hardly had any possessions That was the one thing important thing she had. They also took a box which had all our wedding invitations and favours in it, as well as paperwork which I was due to give to the church and reception venue.”

Detective Constable Nick Bloom said: “We believe the family was burgled between 10.30pm on Wednesday February 6 and 7am on Thursday February 7. The police are asking for any witnesses or anyone with information to come forward.”

Toby still has some way to go before he is fully grown – British Giant rabbits can reach up to 5.9 kg.

Owner Kimberley, 30, said monster bunny Toby was so big he lives in a cage built for a Labrador. Kimberley and online salesman partner Martin, 33, got their prized pet from an animal adoption centre who took him in an unwanted pet.

She said: “He’s playful, really friendly, and he doesn’t mind my three-year-old crawling all over him. He’s like a small dog really. He has the run of the house and at night he goes in a dog’s crate. It’s a Labrador-sized cage. When he thumps on the floor its incredibly loud – you can hear it echoing around the house.”

On the night of the burglary Toby stomped his five-inch long feet so loudly on the plastic floor of his crate that he managed to wake Kimberley up.

She said: “The rabbit had obviously seen the burglar when he went into the kitchen. I heard him thump five times on the bottom of his cage and I woke up, sat up, then turned over and went back to sleep. As I’ve done that the bed springs have made a loud creaking sound, so the guy has probably heard movement and made a run for it.”

Although the thief managed to take some valuables Kimberley fears the break-in could have been even worse had it not been for Toby.

She added: “If he hadn’t been scared off he could have come upstairs looking for things. My daughter was asleep up there – it could have been really dangerous. Toby has done the job of a guard dog. We’re so proud of him we’ve rewarded him with a new tunnel to play with. It’s a cat’s tunnel obviously because he needs a big one.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/9873002/Giant-rabbit-scares-burglar-out-of-family-home.html

Bunny Attacks at Denver airport

On February 19, 2013February 18, 2013 By A.P.In Arapahoe Autotek, Bunny, Colorado, coyote urine, Denver, Denver International Airport, Michelle Anderson, Nature, Urine, USAirport Parking, USDA Wildlife Service, Wiley FarisLeave a comment

bunny-rabbit

It’s a problem that plagues passengers who park at Denver International Airport- bunnies are causing hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars in damage to cars. The rabbits eat the wires under the hood. The USDA Wildlife Service is removing at least 100 bunnies every month but the problem persists.

“I see at least dozens every morning. They go hide under the cars and the cars are warm,” said airport shuttle driver Michelle Anderson.

“They like to chew on the insulator portion of the ignition cables. That’s what we see,” said Arapahoe Autotek spokesman Wiley Faris.

Faris said rabbit damage is a common problem. The suspects are easily identified by the fur and pellets left behind. “That wiring harness has all the wiring for the car so it can run from the hundreds into the thousands depending on where the harness is damaged,” said Faris.

USAirport Parking is taking action to keep the bunnies out of vehicles.

“It’s hard to get rid of the bunnies but we’re going to try as many natural things as possible,” said an USAirport Parking employee.

Crews will install new fencing to make it harder for the bunnies to burrow under.

“We’re also going to build raptor perches for the hawks and eagles,” said USAirport Parking.

Local mechanics are also giving drivers a secret weapon: coyote urine. They’re coating car wires with the substance. “We have found a good deterrent is predator urine, you can pick up fox urine at any pro hunting shop,” said Faris.

DIA and City of Denver officials said parking permits clearly state they are not responsible for any damage which means repairs needed because of ravenous rabbits are the responsibility of the driver. DIA said they have only received a handful of claims concerning rabbits damaging cars in recent years. Since 2009 there have been nine official claims from passengers reporting damage to their cars from rabbits.

DIA said more than 11,720 cars are parked on the property each day. Most insurance companies won’t cover the costs of rabbit damage.

DIA Parking Lots Consider Measures To Stop Bunnies From Attacking Cars

The Kissinger: Virtual Kissing for Long Distance Relationships

On July 25, 2012July 25, 2012 By A.P.In Bunny, Cow, Human Behavior, Lovotics, Pig, Relationship, sexuality, Swine, The KissingerLeave a comment

The Kissinger kissing robot concept from Lovotics lets people virtually smooch with each other. Big silicone lips on each animal-shaped device register and replicate lip movements for long-distance affection.

Kissinger looks like a cross between a cow and a bunny. I know what you’re thinking. That sounds super sexy!

The bot sports some good-size lips. The idea is that you kiss away on your Kissinger and the touch-sensitive device sends the movements to another Kissinger far away. That Kissinger moves its own lips in response.

The lips are made from silicone and the kissing critter makes a sort of buzzing noise when it replicates a smooch.

So far, Kissinger is just lips, no tongue. The robot is in concept form, with no word on wider availability yet.

To summarize, two people each make out with sensitive cow/bunny robots and, therefore, actually make out with each other.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57371948-1/kissinger-smooching-robot-for-virtual-make-out-sessions/

Dead Bunny

On March 17, 2012March 16, 2012 By A.P.In Accidents, BunnyLeave a comment

Til, a two-week old earless bunny,seemed destined to become Germany’s newest animal celebrity until a TV cameraman accidentally stepped on the bunny, instantly crushing him to death.

The unidentified cameraman was filming a story on the small zoo in Saxony as it prepared to present the 17-day-old bunny to the world at a press conference.

He says didn’t see Til, who was covered with hay, when he took a step backward, Spiegel Online reports.

“He was immediately dead, he didn’t suffer,” zoo director Uwe Dempewolf tells the website for the magazine Der Spiegel. “It was a direct hit. No one could have foreseen this. Everyone here is upset. The cameraman was distraught.”

Spiegel Online notes that earless rabbits are very rare and Til would have been a media sensation in Germany, which has a history of worshipping furry baby animals.

Til’s body will now be frozen while zoo officials decide whether to have him stuffed.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2012/03/tv-crew-accidentally-kills-celebrity-bunny–/1

Thanks to Nicole Stricker for bringing this to the It’s Interesting community.

Man in Big Black Bunny Suit Terrorized Idaho Town

On February 28, 2012February 28, 2012 By A.P.In Bunny, Human Behavior1 Comment

These picture are dramatizations, as the story decscribes William Falkingham as wearing a black bunny suit. Still, you get the picture.

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An Idaho Falls man has been told not to wear his bunny suit in public anymore after neighbors complained that he was frightening small children.

The Idaho Falls Police Department received calls on Monday of a man in a black bunny suit that was being a public nuisance and scaring children in a neighborhood. Police responded to the 400 block of Third Street where they advised 34-year-old William Falkingham not to wear his bunny suit costume in public.

According to reports, a resident told authorities that her son had been frightened by Falkingham who was wearing a black bunny suit and hiding behind a tree. The neighbor also told police that the 34-year-old male pointed his finger like a gun at her son.

Officers also spoke to other neighbors who expressed that they were greatly disturbed by Falkingham and his bunny suit. Neighbors also reported that the 34-year-old occasionally wears a tutu with the costume.

Falkingham told authorities that he enjoys wearing the suit, but understands the neighbors’ concerns and complaints.

http://www.kpvi.com/mostpopular/story/Idaho-Falls-Police-Investigate-Man-in-Bunny-Suit/li9tE-AVQkegDSsOT6mRgA.cspx

Champis the Sheep Herding Bunny

On February 25, 2012February 24, 2012 By A.P.In BunnyLeave a comment

Champis the bunny doesn’t only hop — he also knows how to herd his masters’ flock of sheep, possibly having picked up the skill after watching trained dogs do the job.

The 5-year old pet rabbit from the small village of Kal in northern Sweden shot to online fame last week, garnering more than 700,000 YouTube hits, after a clip of his sheepherding skills surfaced on a blog.

The June video shows a persistent Champis running back and forth on the farm, trying to keep Nils-Erik and Greta Vigren’s sheep together.

Greta Vigren said she first noted his talent last spring when they let out the sheep to graze for the first time after the long Swedish winter.

“He just started to behave like a sheepdog,” she recalled, adding that while he likes to round up the sheep, he is consistent about leaving the farm’s hens alone, treating them more gently.

“He’s like a king for the whole group. He thinks he rules over both the sheep and the hens. He has a very big ego.”

Dan Westman, a sheepdog breeder who shot and posted the video of his friends’ remarkable bunny, said he was in awe when he first witnessed the phenomenon, noting Champis does the job even better than most dogs would.

“It’s really incredible, it’s a herding rabbit,” he said. “He rounds them up, and if they get close to escaping through the gate he sometimes stops them,” he said.

“I mean I work with sheepdogs and know how hard this is. There are very few dogs that could do what this rabbit does.”

Westman, who’s known both Champis and it’s owners for years, said the beige little mix-breed bunny had never been trained for the job but seemed to have learned the ropes all on his own.

“He’s probably picked some of it up from watching the dogs,” he said.

Despite his tiny size, Westman said the sheep seem to pay their minder a world of respect, letting him herd them around when he feels they need some moving.

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