Resourceful wild animals

[gbk]

Like many of us,we got a big pile of snow.

The snow is creating a berm in front of my house,where my furnace /water heater piping exits then house.Snow is removed though to a safe distance from them pipes.
The two hot air exhaust created a cave .Right beside the cave is a cedar tree,creating overhead protection .

A wild rabbit lives on my property -mostly under my shed.But with the thick snow blocking access to the space under the shed-the rabbit needed housing solution.There is a smallish ledge created by nature (and the rabbit ) beside the cedar tree.So-my friend made this his/hers new home.Day after day,the rabbit spends the night in relative warmth,on a cozy and very much protected snow ledge
Ingenious.

Lets start some conversation.Share your experiences about wild animals being resourcefull and doing thing outside of their natural habits/habitat.

[fishfood]

I left my garden open and have been tossing all my scrap fresh veggies in it. The rabbits poop all over and hopefully it acts as a natural fertilizer lol. What ever is left overit can compost into the foundation when I till it up.

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[finsfurfeathers]

Still have one apple tree that needs pruning. Been holding off till we get these conditions. As now when I drop the branches pretty sure the cottontails will have 'em cleaned up and no need to pickup and bundle them.

[Birdbuff]

Cottontails have been wreaking havoc on my fruit trees and berries. I burlap led them in the fall with 3 feet's worth. Unfortunately for me, we have almost 3 feet of snow, so the rabbits are able to browse the lower branches and upper canes. I have dug moats around and blocked ways into my yard, but they are cunning adversaries and find ways to get in.

I'd appreciate any trapping suggestions.

[dean.f]

I pruned my crab apple tree that's very overgrown and within a day or 2 the rabbits set up residence in the branches and stopped chewing all of my perennials in the front garden. It gave me an idea, so I made a couple of brush piles in the back where the resident coyote has been hunting for them nightly and gave them a bit of sheltered food. I can't believe how quickly a couple of cottontail can devour soft branches, and I think the coyote finally gave up as I haven't had him or the fox on camera for over a week. Maybe just a coincidence though since the last dumping of snow over the weekend.

[swampsinger]

I can think of two examples of wildlife taking advantage of human habitation to extend their range, northern cardinal and cottontail rabbit. Around this part of Ontario I refer to cottontails as "town rabbits". You very rarely see them in the marlborough forest, however they are plentiful in places like Smiths Falls, Perth, Kemptville, Carleton Place, and Ottawa. They need bird feeders, gardens, and the warmth of foundations to thrive.

[Bigburndogg]

that rabbit is clever making its own little snow cave! I once saw a squirrel stash nuts under my porch when the snow blocked its usual spots.

[Gilroy]

Snapping turtles and painted turtles, take a last breath in the late fall, dive to the bottom of the lake and dont use their lungs for another 5 months. They breath thru another part of the body, mostly the butt area.