Calgary's feral rabbits thriving in the southeast community of Seton

There is a squad of formerly domestic rabbits running wild in the southeast community of Seton.

They're chewing, digging, hopping, burrowing and breeding like, well, rabbits.

Local legend has it that three domestic bunnies were released in a field near the South Health Campus by a pet owner who got tired of them. In the years that have followed, those three have multiplied into more than 100.

They've turned into an attraction for many families in the area. Chanae Smith brought her two young daughters, Araya and Hatley, to watch the rabbits on Seton Crescent S.E. near the TD Canada Trust branch.

"I think they're just excited to see another little creature not too much smaller than them really," she said.

A squad of formerly domestic rabbits is running wild in the community of Seton. Jonathan MacDonald said he and his five-month-old dog often spot multiple rabbits when they go out for a walk.  

"The dog's been good around them since he started training, which is really great," said MacDonald. "We have seen a coyote in the area a few times, kind of tracking them, but other than that they've been fine for me."

The rabbits forage wherever they can and are devouring much of the grass in the area. Some people have taken to feeding them, but Kyla Rae says that's not a good idea. Rae is a technician assistant at the Calgary Avian & Exotic Pet Clinic. 

"These guys have a really special digestive system," Rae said. "It's very complicated, but they get all the nutrition they need from the dead grass and the roots that they're able to bring up with their paws, digging in the ground even though there's snow."

Rae says there is a health danger for the domestic animals called Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease. It's highly contagious, there is no known cure and it is terminal.

"They get really tired," said Rae. "They're not eating as much and then we see that bleeding is the most common thing, so we'll see bleeding from the mouth, from the back end and they just become non-responsive."

Hares are not susceptible to the disease; it's only specific to feral domestic rabbits.

"This disease, it can come into your house on your shoes or your hands," said Rae. "If you decide that you want to pet a cute (feral) bunny, we all understand that people want to do that, but you can bring (the disease) in, so hygiene – if you have rabbits at home – is a really big thing."

The rabbits have developed a taste for bark in the area and they have stripped the bottom 30 centimetres from many trees. John Ostrowdun is the manager at Greengate Garden Centres, and says rabbits can cause severe damage to mature trees.

"It doesn't take much to kill a tree," he said. "All those chewing animals can do a lot of damage very quickly, you might not see the damage till spring (and when) your tree doesn't leaf out, you're like, 'what's going on,' and then you see this ring around it."

Damage to a tree caused by formerly domestic rabbits running wild in the community of Seton. The Calgary Humane Society says it receives calls daily about the feral rabbit population through out the city. It's not currently accepting large rabbits and it asks the public to leave them alone.

It says in many cases feral rabbits wouldn't be adoptable because they're considered wild, and while some came from a domestic background, they've been outside for too long and wouldn't thrive in a home environment. 

The humane society recommends to leave the rabbits where they are, unless they appear sick or injured. In those cases, if the rabbit can be caught, it can be taken to a 24-hour vet clinic for treatment.

To learn more about what to do if you find a stray rabbit, you can visit the Calgary Humane Society's website.