Before you cut the grass, check for baby rabbits, viral video warns
Wildlife removal specialist often gets calls from people who have run over bunny nests
That patch of brown on your lawn might be more than dead grass. If you peel it back you might find a little nest of baby rabbits, squirming just under the surface.
As the spring months come along, I get tons of calls saying 'I was just cutting my grass and I ran over a rabbit's nest.'- Jared Houliston
Jared Houliston knows all about those hidden nests under dead grass. And now, warning others to look out for them has turned into a bit of internet fame for him.
Houliston, who owns Ontario Wildlife Removal Inc. in Brantford, Ont., made a video that warns people to check for rabbit nests before they mow their lawns. That video has now been viewed more than three million times.
He has fielded dozens of calls this week from viral internet sites wanting to know the story behind the video.
Houliston posted it to Facebook in late May after he uncovered a nest of tiny rabbits just under the surface of a client's lawn. And apparently, that's not unusual.
He gets multiple calls a week from people who don't see the nests and hit baby rabbits with their lawn mowers, he said. He wants people to check before they mow.
"As the spring months come along, I get tons of calls saying 'I was just cutting my grass and I ran over a rabbit's nest,'" he told CBC News. "I noticed I was receiving more and more of those calls."
When rabbits are first born, he says in the video, they look like "little dots." So people should scan their lawns for dead patches before they cut.
And if people don't want the rabbits there, they don't have to fear, Houliston said. They grow quickly, and within two weeks they'll hop away on their own.
Houliston is surprised by the attention the video is getting. But he's pleased the message is spreading.
"It happens everywhere, except people don't know about it," he said. "Maybe that's why it's getting shared so much."