Bunny population bounces up in Park Cities neighborhoods
They’re cute. They’re cuddly. And their fluffy tails, perky ears, and twitchy noses have given Park Cities residents even more reasons to say “aww” this summer.
This year’s wet weather and warmer winter has led to a bunny boom, explained Sam Kieschnick, an urban wildlife biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife.
“They can reproduce like crazy if the conditions are right,” he said. “Because we had a mild winter, they were reproducing, having more rabbits, and those baby rabbits grew up to have more rabbits.”
Bunnies, like Park Cities residents, appreciate a thriving lawn and garden, which means rabbits with discerning tastes have taken up residence near area homes.
“When you factor in the demographics of the Park Cities, we have well maintained landscapes with flowers, gardens, lush lawns, and irrigation systems, which create ample food for growing and reproducing rabbits,” explained Jacqueline Sutherland Qualls, a wildlife investigator for Dallas Animal Services.
University Park resident Renee Polychronis said she’s noticed an exponential jump in the rabbit population. The bunnies are especially visible early in the morning and late in the evening.
“One night, my kids and I were driving home from dinner. It was almost dusk, and we were driving down Caruth, I think, and there were bunnies in almost every yard,” she said.
The bunnies have not damaged her flowers, and she enjoys seeing them. But Polychronis’ sister in Plano hasn’t been as lucky; she’s tried everything to keep the bunnies out of her plants, all to no avail. The powdered product that Polychronis thinks was coyote urine only worked for a short period of time. Her sister had to abandon the motion-sensor sprinkler that sprayed bunnies eating her flowers when it began spraying the mailman.
“They’re the new squirrel!” said Highland Park Education Foundation executive director Meg Boyd. Her dog tries to dart after the bouncy animals on walks, and she sees them when she drives around.
“They multiply, and they’re here,” said Boyd, who grew up in the Park Cities. “I’ve never seen more bunnies.”
The bunnies are most likely Eastern Cottontail Rabbits, as opposed to “fascinating,” slightly-larger Swamp Rabbits. Those tend to live in forested, river-bottom areas where there are ample fallen logs, Kieschnick said.
He said that the population increase isn’t permanent — a bunny bust is on the horizon. In addition to being adorable, bunnies are delicious to predators such as owls, hawks, bobcats, and coyotes. A bump in bunnies attracts the animals who dine on them, which eventually reduces the population.
If bunnies were rats, the Park Cities would have a problem. But fortunately for locals, the bouncy fluffballs do not pose a threat to human health.
Kieschnick still emphasized that sharing food with wildlife, no matter how cute and cuddly, is generally not helpful to the animals. He added that a meal’s leftovers could attract less welcome guests, such as rats and mice, as well as the snakes which dine on them.
“We just want to squeeze their cute little cheeks,” he said. “Well, that’s probably not the best thing to do. So, let’s close our eyes, imagine us petting and loving them, but in reality, let’s appreciate them from a little bit of a distance.”
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