One look at a bear’s sharp claws, vicious teeth, and massive tower of muscle for a body, and it’s clear that this creature is a monster.
But is it, really?
The fact of the matter is, while bears are predators, they mostly feed on berries, roots, grasses, and insects.
So, do bears attack and eat rabbits?
They do, but not often. Bears are opportunistic eaters; in many cases, they’ll only attack and consume an animal if it’s easy to grab and doesn’t put up much of a fight. And while wild rabbits aren’t known for their combat skills, they’re too fast and agile for most bears to catch.
Pet rabbits that are stuck in your yard are another matter, however.
Keep reading to know more about bear attacks on rabbits, and what you can do to prevent your pet bunnies from getting annihilated by these fearsome beasts.
Why Bears Rarely Attack and Eat Wild Rabbits
Why don’t bears target wild rabbits more often? Let’s find out!
Bears have a tough time catching rabbits
Bears make amazing runners, achieving speeds between 25 and 35 miles per hour. Unfortunately for them, rabbits are even faster, boasting speeds from 25 to 45 miles per hour. In short, bears don’t normally attack and feed on wild rabbits because said rabbits are simply too fast for them to catch.
Rabbits are also extremely agile, often darting through foliage from one tree to another – barriers that would slow down or even stop an enormous, lumbering bear. In addition, bunnies tend to make zigzagging motions, which make them harder for a predator to chase and seize.
On top of all that, rabbits are tiny, allowing them to dive into small holes in the ground where they can hide. True, bears can use their ferocious claws to dig after the rabbit; however, by the time a bear has finished their excavation, the rabbit has already taken advantage of its network of underground tunnels to put as much distance between itself and the bear.
Lastly, wild bunnies’ amazing senses go a long way in helping them survive. They can see much farther than many animals, meaning they can spot predators a great distance away. Thanks to their eyeballs having significantly more rods than cones, their vision is exceptionally sharp during dawn and dusk, which are both times of the day when bears are active. Thanks to having eyes on either side of the head, rabbits also have a nearly 360-degree view of the world, allowing them to see almost everything around them. And we haven’t even touched on their incredible sense of hearing! All of these abilities make rabbits exceptionally difficult to sneak up on, so good luck to a gigantic bear that wants to stalk one!
Bears have a varied diet of easily accessible foods
Why would a bear exhaust itself trying to catch a wild rabbit when other foods are readily available?
As omnivores, bears benefit from a varied diet consisting of vegetation and meat. And they tend to focus on edibles that are plentiful and easily accessible, such as:
- Berries
- Fish
- Grass
- Insects (including larvae)
- Roots
- Succulent plants
Of course, bears do eat creatures that are larger and more challenging to catch, such as:
- Deer
- Elk
- Moose
Take note, however, that when hunting these animals, bears still prioritize the easy targets: the young. After all, young deer, elk, and moose are less capable of defending themselves than their adult counterparts.
As opportunistic creatures, bears are also scavengers. If one comes across the carcass of a deer, it won’t hesitate to help itself to its meat. If there are other scavenges (such as foxes and birds) already feeding on the corpse, the bear will scare these away so it can claim its prize.
In other words, a bear would most likely only ingest a rabbit if it’s already dead or slow enough to catch due to illness, injury, or old age.
What About Domesticated Rabbits? Are They in Danger from Bears?
Unlike wild rabbits, domesticated bunnies aren’t free to run anywhere they please. In many cases, they’re stuck in their hutch in their owner’s yard, making them easy pickings for bears.
Here’s the thing about bears: they’re typically shy around humans and would rather stay away from human settlements than explore them for food. And as discussed above, they tend to feed on easily accessible foods.
So why would a bear break into your yard and crack open a hutch to eat your pet bunnies?
Why do bears attack and eat domesticated rabbits?
While a bear won’t specifically seek domesticated rabbits as its primary food source, it will attack and devour them if:
- It’s starving
- Its main food sources are unavailable or not easily accessible
- The rabbits are easily accessible
In short, a bear would attack and eat domesticated rabbits if it feels it has no other choice but to.
During the winter months, when vegetation withers, trees stop bearing fruits, and some animals either hibernate or migrate, the bear’s favorite foods grow extremely scarce. Rather than facing death by starvation, however, the bear does its best to overcome its fear of humans and visits our towns and villages in the hopes of finding food. Usually, it would rummage through our garbage to find something to warm its belly. If it’s lucky, however, it’ll scent out a flock of chickens or colony of rabbits conveniently kept behind a flimsy fence.
Tips on How to Keep Your Rabbits Safe from Bears
If you keep animals that bears consume, then you could end up attracting bears to your property. So yes, having rabbits in your backyard may lure bears to your home.
In many cases, however, it’s not the rabbits per se that do the luring but the various smells associated with them.
Bears are blessed with a nose that’s even more powerful than a dog’s, allowing them to detect odors from miles away. This means that if you don’t clean up after your rabbits, the stench of their refuse can reach a bear’s nose. Rabbit pee, in particular, boasts an intense aroma that can have bears making a beeline for your home.
To guarantee your rabbit’s safety, take steps to deter bear attacks. You can learn how to do this by checking out our quick guide below!
Clean your property
As stated earlier, bears have a keen sense of smell. Therefore, to prevent these animals from paying your house a visit, get rid of any odors that may attract them.
First of all, thoroughly clean your rabbits’ hutch on the regular. Don’t allow their poop to accumulate. Use pure white vinegar or a solution or diluted white vinegar to remove their urine as soon as possible (you’ll need stronger chemical cleaners if the urine dries). Avoid leaving edibles (especially the types that spoil quickly) out in the open but instead store them in a secure place that can hide their scent.
Make sure to regularly empty your garbage cans and keep them within an enclosure that masks their smell. If you have a compost pile, keep it inside an enclosure, as well.
Your entire property (yard included, of course) should always be free of trash and debris. Anything that smells like food or has bits of food on it (such as a barbecue grill) should be cleaned properly, then locked inside a secure storage space. Take note that food odors can be concealed using ammonia.
Remove fruits and beehives
Because bears enjoy dining on berries and other fruits, any fruits on your property can end up luring one or more of these creatures to your property. For this reason, if your yard is home to fruit trees, pick their fruits and store them somewhere secure as soon as possible. Never let fruits that have fallen to the ground stay on the ground to rot.
Similarly, bears love honey and are usually on the lookout for beehives to raid. Therefore, if beehives exist near your property, it’s in your best interest to get rid of them – otherwise, you run the risk of attracting a bear to your place. Don’t let yourself get stung, however; if you aren’t familiar with appropriate beehive removal techniques, hire a bee control service to do it for you.
Scare bears away
Don’t want bears visiting your yard? Why not take advantage of their shy nature and frighten them off?
Motion-sensitive lights should do the trick. Install them in your yard so that whenever a bear gets too close to your property, they’ll startle the animal with a flash of bright light, dissuading it from coming any closer.
As long as you’re in a secure place, such as inside the house or on top of the roof, you can also try scaring the bear away yourself. For instance, you can make scary, shocking loud noises by shouting into a bullhorn or banging two trash can lids together, which should be enough to scare away a bear.
Install an electric fence
As strong and fearsome as bears are, they’re like any other animal in that they’re not too fond of getting electrocuted. So why not keep your rabbits safe behind an electric fence?
When touched, an electric fence sends an electric current coursing through a bear’s body. While this doesn’t have the power to kill or significantly hurt it, the shock and discomfort it causes should suffice in scaring away a bear.
Conclusion
In the wild, bears do attack and eat rabbits. However, they do so occasionally only.
First of all, bears find it difficult to catch rabbits. After all, these tiny mammals are fast, agile, and small enough to squeeze into spaces bears can’t access. In addition, bunnies have amazing senses that allow them to detect predators before they get too close.
Secondly, bears prefer foods that are plentiful and readily available. For this reason, a bear is most likely to only consume a rabbit if it’s already dead or slowed down by age, injury, or illness.
If you’re the owner of domesticated rabbits, however, you may be inadvertently luring bears to your property. To prevent this from happening, always clean up after your rabbits, as the scent of their refuse can reach a bear’s powerful nose. For similar reasons, keep your property clean of garbage. Make sure to also protect your rabbits using an electric fence, get rid of the fruits and beehives on your property, and familiarize yourself with the techniques you can employ to scare away bears.