By Cara Sulieman
THIS brassed off bunny needs well meaning animal lovers to hop it – after being “rescued” over and over again.
Welfare chiefs say the tiny hare – a leveret called Bramble – is just the latest to be handed into its centres in the run up to Easter by well meaning passers-by who mistakenly think it has been abandoned.
But experts say the young hares found sitting by themselves in clumps of grass or indentation are simply waiting for their parents to come back with food.
Lonely creatures
Yet concerned animal-lovers are assuming that the lonely little creatures are in trouble and calling out the Scottish SPCA.
Two-week-old hare Bramble was recently taken to the Wildlife Rescue Centre in Fife, despite the fact that there was nothing wrong it.
Wildlife Assistant Nadia Al-Dujaili is now looking after Bramble at home in order to keep him in the quietest place possible.
He is being hand reared by Nadia until he is eight weeks old when he will be released back into a safe wild place.
Uninjured
Wildlife Centre Manager Colin Seddon said, “Bramble is a good example of the type of young hare that, if found in a field and uninjured, should be left alone.
“Generally leverets are found on their own in a clump of grass or in a natural indentation in the ground.”
And Colin explained that the animals have a strange way of bringing up their young.
Born fully furred and with their eyes wide open, the babies are left by themselves for the vast majority of the day.
Fully furred
He said: “Their parent only visits them once a day and that is at night for a feed that only lasts about 20 minutes.
“They are born fully furred with their eyes open and are mobile, although they spend most of their time sitting still.
“We are urging people to make sure the leveret actually needs rescuing before they attempt to pick them up because they can be problematic to rear.
“The mother hare is far better at it than us.”
Immediate danger
Colin suggests that if anyone is worried about the safety of a leveret, they should call the charity before the move it, unless it is in immediate danger.
They will then provide advice about what should be done.
Anyone seeking wildlife advice, interested in rehoming an animal or wishing to donate to or join the Scottish SPCA can visit scottishspca.org or telephone 03000 999 999.
