Name That Critter!

A couple of months ago, we noticed something was digging outside our animal run. Inside the run is where our three Cayuga ducks and three dwarf rabbits live. We were concerned that a predator was after the animals. Although we had predator proofed the run as best as we could, we were still worried.

One morning as I was trying to get a few extra winks of sleep, my husband burst into the room exclaiming that there was a large white rabbit in our garden. At first, I thought I was just having a weird dream, or maybe my husband was talking in his sleep cause he does that sometimes (a lot actually!). I got up anyway and looked out the back window. There really was a large white rabbit in our garden and it was trying to get inside our run! I tip-toed outside, quietly opened the gate, and corralled the ducks inside their house. The white rabbit watched without running away, so I stepped back and it hopped right inside the open gate.

What a relief to know there wasn't a determined predator, just a lonely (and very hungry!) male New Zealand White rabbit. Now I wouldn't have to fill in a bunch of recently dug holes around the perimeter of the run each morning! ...Or so I thought. The next day I happened to be chatting with our neighbors and mentioned the white rabbit. "Oh good! Maybe you can catch the two brown ones now!" TWO BROWN ONES? Sure enough, we noticed the digging continued around the outside of our run.

We tried a live trap, and several other brilliant, but unsuccessful plans. Then one afternoon I saw them outside and quietly opened the gate again... in they hopped! Silly rabbits! These two were large, brown mixed breeds with definitely a little lion-head in them. Another male and a female. We quickly found homes for the two males, but the brown female one we kept "temporarily" to make sure she wasn't pregnant.

Well, here we are, about a month and a half later and she is still with us. I think it's time to admit that she is going to stay with us. We just can't bring ourselves to look for a new home for her.

There is one main problem, however. We can't seem to find a name for her that fits. We just keep calling her "the girl bunny", which is ridiculous. Especially since she isn't even the only girl bunny we have! I would love some great name ideas! Ideas anyone?
I just love the tortoiseshell markings on her face, her fluffy white tail, and long wispy lions-mane. Plus she is so friendly and will come right up to me for treats and petting. ...Just ignore my falling apart shoes in the photo below. I'm not going to wear my nice shoes out to play with the animals! Never mind the fact that I was wearing a dress and striped stockings at the time...

*Just a side note: after asking around our neighborhood, it was determined that these rabbits were drop-offs. Sometimes people decide they no longer want their animals and just drive them out somewhere and dump them. As winter approaches, this is more common because people don't want to care for them in the cold weather. Please don't ever do this! This particular story has a happy ending, but that is not the norm. If they don't die from starvation or predators, they can reproduce and begin a feral population which can easily get out of control and cause a lot of damage.
  

Shared Here:

The Backyard Farming Connection 
Down Home Blog Hop at Tilly's Nest 
The HomeAcre Hop at Black Fox Homestead 
From The Farm Blog Hop at Sunny Simple Life 
Farmgirl Friday at Deborah Jean's Dandelion House
Clever Chicks Blog Hop at The Chicken Chick  
The Creative Home and Garden Hop at Little Homestead On The Hill