Leave the Rabbits Alone!

baby groundhog

I had seen some kids playing around here.  They were chasing and terrorizing wild rabbits.  I never saw them hurt any rabbits, but I saw them poking at them with sticks.  Obviously, you would be terrorized if you were being chased by giants, and you couldn't understand what they were saying or what they wanted.  They can play amongst themselves, and not be living nightmares for little wild animals.  I haven't hesitated in the past to intervene in such situations, but I regretted not saying anything the first time I saw it.  I had another chance today.  I said something, but it wasn't loud enough, so they didn't hear me.  I saw a girl throw a tennis racket at a rabbit.  The next time they came around, they heard me.  All I said was, "Leave the rabbits alone!"  And they did.  Unfortunately, it's only natural for humans to want to make life miserable for animals.  If protecting them is the right thing to do, then do it.  I certainly wouldn't have touched those kids.  All I'm willing to do is talk to them or yell at them.  Heroes of mine include Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr, both believed in non-violent resistance.
On a more positive note, I have come to realize there are at least five baby groundhogs living right next to my building.  So far, Veronica is my choice for mother of the year.  She was out grazing with one of her babies.  Suddenly, she ran toward the family hole in the ground.  That's something I've seen groundhogs do plenty of times.  This time was different.  On her way to the hole, she made several high-pitched noises with her mouth.  It was instantly obvious why she did that.  It was for the sake of her baby, who immediately followed her mother to the hole.  What was all this about?  I looked around and saw an animal I had never seen around here before: a large raccoon.  Veronica watched the raccoon carefully from her position, which was right at the hole.  It's possible she had never seen one before.  Even after the raccoon had been gone for several minutes, she continued to look around cautiously.  Her baby even helped out.  She stood on her hind legs and looked around.  I'm not sure if she even knew what she was looking for, but her intentions were good.  Baby groundhogs are among the cutest animals I've ever seen.