Baby hare drama

Jul 11, 2023 12:22 AM

Zahnradfee

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This evening I was watering my garden and just when I was about to leave, a baby hare came hopping towards me and wedged itself between my naked feet.

This picture isn't him, because I don't want to stress him out by taking pictures, I just wanted to show you how little they are.

Coming up towards humans is a very unusual behaviour for baby hares. They usually stay put and rely on their camouflage. But when they are very hungry and thirsty, they wander around seeking their mom and then also approach humans. That is usually a warning sign that mom didn't turn up for nursing.

So I was pretty concerned and took the baby home with me, where I started googling how to help it. There is not wildlife rescue station near me and the only thing I can do is try and give him some herbal tea until the pet shop opens and I can buy kitten formula. Baby hares need fluids.

I tried giving him some of the tea with a syringe but he only took a few drops if any at all.

So I went back to the garden (it's a bit away from my house) with the baby and hoped I would see the mom there. I sat there in silence for a while but there was no movement. I assumed if she was there she would search for her baby too.

Once I wanted to leave again I stepped on something hard-ish in the grass. I thought it was my watering nozzle, but then it started hopping away.

Oh, horror, there was another baby hare and I had stepped on it!
I still wore no shoes, but I must have injured it pretty badly. I cought it and it was wet, which is not good for baby hares. It was also bleeding out of its nose, which is a bad sign. It fainted and I thought it would die then and there but it lived on.

Now I'm sitting back at home with two orphaned baby hares, one of which is whimpering in pain, and I feel like total shit. I should just have left the first one.
But yesterday I found a dead baby hare, probably killed by crows. The three are probably siblings, since a hare litter has 3 young on average. I thought that maybe the mother has left after one died. But now I'm not sure anymore.

I want to go back at dawn and see whether she's there, but I feel like I made a bad mistake. But if I leave them and mom does not turn up, they'll all die or also be killed by crows when they start wandering around again.

What do I do when she isn't there at dawn? I read up on how to raise baby hares and it's not easy. You need specialized stuff and it not only costs quite a lot, it's also pretty likely they'll still die because of a hundred and one reasons.
Plus I have scheduled several vacation trips within the next two months - which is the time the hares need care.

ARRRGH, it sucks so much. I'm sitting here in the middle of the night and there is nobody who could help me. The vets around me cannot haid raise hare babies and the zoo's wildlife rehabilitation doesn't take "game animals". The only animal "rescue" service is part of the local fire brigade and they already said they aren't coming out for an orphaned baby hare. (They also wouldn't know where to put it.)
The crazy thing is that the hare is actually endangered in many parts of Germany due to habitat loss. They live in the city here.

I feel like I've bitten off more than I can chew - like this snake here:

https://imgur.com/gallery/NDXQfTq

Oh man, this sucks so much, I'm sorry, OP. For what it's worth, you didn't just take the first one in willy-nilly but made a sensible assumption based on the available evidence. And of course stepping on the second one was a terrible accident. And they'd likely both have been eaten by hawks right now. So you helped where you could, I'll keep my fingers crossed for a good outcome. 💚

3 years ago | Likes 7 Dislikes 0

Thank you. Will update in a few hours after being to the vet with them.

3 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Good luck op, thank you for being a good human!

3 years ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 0

/gallery/8m6WSai

3 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Thank you. :)

3 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0