But in round 3 the Brachylagus bunnies went full-on dust-bath crazy.
The cam captured 18 different dust baths in 4 weeks in August, generating over 100 photos.
Heat? Dryness? Seasonality of fleas and mites?
Sub-adult pygmy rabbit enjoying a dust-bath at 10:25pm
And 2 days later at 4:30am
And while they bathe at various times, morning baths after sunrise seem to be the most popular.
Perhaps for sand warmth and/or dryness.
Different adult at 9:05am
Sub-adult 3 days later at 9:10am
At first glance I thought the Sub-adult Brachy was doing all the bathing. But once I had time for proper editing and photo-forensics, I found that the photos show 3 different pygmy rabbits using the same bath bowl - the Sub-adult, the Lead Brachy, and another large adult from the "end of the sage row" that may be a female. Perhaps Mom Brachy?
Showing the dust bath bowls are communal.
On top of that, the behavior may also be about scent-marking. Several other mammal species visited the bath bowl and sniffed around...
Kangaroo rat in the bowl
Chipmunk
Juvenile black-tailed jackrabbit
And other pygmies also stopped to sniff the area without indulging in a bath.
Pygmy rabbit checking out the dust bath bowl
Different adult pygmy visiting bowl 2 days later
Uh-oh.
Note that the sniffing about knocked a chunk of wood into the bowl. (or is that a Baby Ruth bar?)
But the next morning, the same adult "Mom" Brachy takes care of it.
"It's no big deal"
Moving the chunk of wood with her/his mouth
Clean bowl
Showing the location of the dust bath bowl is significant, too.
Just any ole spot won't do.
Sand quality? Or, because of the scent-marking? Hmmmm...
"Ahhhh... All prettied up and ready for the day"
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References:
- Nature of a Man (this blog) - Splitting Hares
- Nature of a Man (this blog) - Jealous Jacks
- Nature of a Man (this blog) - I Brake for Brachys
- Nature of a Man (this blog) - Pygmies of the Great Basin
oh, my. This sequence is not only interesting and educational, it's THERAPEUTICALLY cute.
ReplyDeleteWow. I love that the grown up rabbit cleaned up the bathing bowl. =)
The one thing that may make a hen ignore a treat is a great dust bath. They get SO into it.
I was going to say pretty much the exact same thing: interesting AND adorable. Thanks for the glimpse into the secret world of late night dust baths.
ReplyDeleteDitto. How cute.
ReplyDeleteD Rentz
Now we know why they're so adorably fluffy. Great find, Ken.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see some video.
ReplyDeleteThanks all. I do seem to be drawn to fascinating and adorable subjects. Hopefully I'll catch some video of the behavior next season.
ReplyDelete