Niall Benvie - Wannabe hare
I’ve not seen interspecific “play” very often so it was interesting to watch this young rabbit chasing these hares on the Scottish island of Islay. For much of the time I was with the hares, from just after dawn, the rabbit ran around them, leaping and nipping like a small child demanding attention from some lugubrious, disinterested elderly relatives. When you witness behaviour like this, which has no clear “survival function”, it’s natural to entertain the possibility that other mammals may also have an emotional life. Doing so can lead us to a very dark place if we dare reflect on how our industrial culture treats the natural world – which is generally with hate.
Tags: hare, interaction, interspecific play, Islay, mammal, Niall Benvie, rabbit, scotland
29/09/2016 15:08
This is great, I love every bit of this.