This is BALBOA, a Mountain Cottontail (Sylvilagus nuttallii). For a little while I lived on a cabin at the high desert in Bend Oregon and this sweet but shy rabbit lived behind my cabin. I named him “Balboa” as he reminded me “Rocky Balboa” and his perseverance and speed. One day he stopped, walked towards me and stared at me. After that we would just in silence share spaces. HE never wanted anything but our safe space. Wonderful Balboa, rain, shine or snow, he was always there!
The Mountain cottontail rabbit lives in rocky ravines or riparian thickets in sagebrush-covered deserts. It also is found in juniper woodland and around the edges of Ponderosa Pine forests but not at high elevations in mountains. |
