A mother rabbit interacting with her babies is always a nice sight. These interactions differ depending on factors like environmental conditions, human interaction, habitat, and so on. Regardless of why the mother will feel the need to call out her babies, you will soon realize that there is a unique way in which she will do this.
How does a mother rabbit call her babies?
When calling for her baby rabbits, the mother will usually purr and click her tongue. This is usually the way in which she makes sure that they are protected when This is a common practice when it comes to burrowing the babies and making sure they are fully protected even when roaming around.
It happens from time to time that the mother doesn’t feel it’s safe enough to call her baby rabbits, and this is usually the case went she thinks there is a possibility for a predator to be around. This can happen a lot when humans are around, especially considering that rabbits are anxious animals and they are very aware of their surroundings. A rabbit mother will have to get really used to you as an owner to call on her babies while you are around so if she does, good for you; it means you are close to your pet.
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Here’s how you can call a bunny to you:
Mother rabbits are very particular with the perfect times to engage with their babies to make sure they don’t put them in danger.
This will also translate into some very low sounds used to communicate with the babies. It usually won’t be more than a purr and a slight click.
Why Do Mother Rabbits Use These Sounds
3. General Training
There has to be a starting point, when babies aren’t yet trained to recognize their mother calling them, so the mother will use this sound to train them and make them understand that this sound means “come to me”.
She will first use the sound to call them at small distances or to simply attract their attention.
They will also make this sound when they will want to make the babies understand that they’re overstepping their boundaries.
1. Proximity to the Burrow
Even as the babies get older, the mother will still want to keep them as close to the burrow as possible. Most of the time they won’t leave for food until they know for sure that their babies are fully protected.
The protection provided by a hidden burrow will usually be the only thing standing between the babies and predators.
This is why, if a mother rabbit notices her babies have gone too far away from the burrow, she will call for them to come back.
As I said above, if the mother notices that her babies are missing for a while and are not returning when she calls for them, she will assume that they have gotten lost or worse, got in the hands of predators, so she will move on and leave the burrow.
In opposition to the mother’s desires, baby rabbits will be curious and will want to roam around to discover the surrounding environment.
This is why mother rabbits will call their babies a lot, in the hope that they return safely to their burrow.
3. Protection From Predators
Rabbits are never short of predators, which means that it’s pretty hard for a mother to protect her tiny, defenseless baby rabbits.
This is why they have gotten used to calling their own with slight sounds and, in the same way, the tiny ones will get used instinctively to the purring call of the mother.
And the babies will have to get used to the sounds pretty quickly because it won’t take a lot for a mother to think her babies have been taken away or worse when they don’t answer her calls.
A lot of different creatures are hunting rabbits, especially small, defenseless ones. This is why they will learn from a really small age not to make a lot of sound and to only leave the burrow when they are called by the mother.
It isn’t unusual for a mother to dig a hole and fully cover the baby rabbits before going out for food, to make sure that they are completely protected from outside predators.
The small rabbits being hidden and completely covered with dirt will mean that they will have a harder time hearing outside sounds, which will be another reason why they will have to know the distinctive calling of the mother.
Final Thoughts
The sound a mother rabbit will use to call on her babies is instinctual, so it will be used by both wild rabbits and pet, domesticated ones as well.
This sound is pretty interesting for people, and pretty unique in the animal world as well. When you hear a mother calling for her babies, if you’re patient enough, you will soon see them come right at her and her offering them any immediate help or needed protection.
