Teaching Fear

Posted on May 9, 2004 in Creatures Hikes and Trails

The rabbit nibbled at the tips of the sage beside the Santiago Trail. I halted in my tracks not six feet away. It was only seven inches long from nose to tail, one of this spring’s first kits. I motioned quietly to Lynn. We watched it for a few minutes as the sun descended. I moved down the trail, towards it. The youngster did not move, except to make way for me on the trail.

It’s fearlessness frightened me. Coyote tracks dotted the dust of the trail. Mountain bikers rolled through all the time. Hawks soared overhead and yet this little rabbit did not seem to know that the world saw it as food. I walked up to it, stood next to it. “Hey, little fellow.” It took one hop around the bush. “Ula-ula-ula-ba-loo!” I yelled, stomping my feet. This time the bunny took three hops into the bush upon which it had been dining.

I am not sanguine about its prospects for surviving the season.