Predators for Ohkunoshima rabbits children?
9/9/26
One life-threatening danger for the rabbits of Okunoshima is the way they are treated by children.
To most children, the rabbits are merely moving toys. They pick them up, grab them roughly, poke them with tree branches, and chase them around while brandishing sticks.
A rabbit being chased panics and darts unpredictably from side to side. Consequently, a child may accidentally trample it, and the rabbit quickly disappears from the child's sight. In reality, many of the rabbits that seem to have vanished have actually suffered broken bones and are on the verge of death. We have witnessed this pattern repeatedly; even when we issue a warning, neither the child nor the parent seems to realize they have done anything wrong.
The worst-case scenario is when a child accidentally stomps a rabbit to death instantly. Having witnessed the entire incident, we were left speechless with shock, frozen in place as we stared at the rabbit—which had been lively just moments before—lying completely motionless.
Even today, the rabbits of Okunoshima are being injured and dying unnoticed.
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