Year of the Rabbit

How fitting it is that during the Chinese Year of the Rabbit (2023), a family of them moved into our backyard. They live in a hole on the little slope that rises midway from the house, over in the bushes toward the right. All spring they have come out intermittently to graze on the grass. Recently they became comfortable enough to play and chase each other without worrying about us. Only the lawnmower seems to scare them, and the menacing cat next door who is very difficult to keep out. Sadly, my wife found fur and some entrails on the patio, presumably from one of the rabbits there the cat picked off. Until then, she felt like she was living in a dream world, or in a heavenly fairy tale, as rabbits are her favorite land dwelling animal. She doesn't even mind their excrement, unlike every other animal.

The rabbit population has increased handily in recent years. I see them all over the suburbs now, when just 10 years ago it would have been a rarity. It's part of an urban wildlife revolution going on, where some animals are evolving to adapt to modern human environments. Like rats before them, coyotes and raccoons are among other animals that are finding it easier to live in our relatively domesticated cities where threats from predators are lower. Eventually, we might see a whole new food chain in urban settings, as more and more animals adjust. After all the waste we've produced, advantages are inevitable. In fact, I believe we've created a whole new level of niche settings because of all the junk we create. And it's not even animals that will benefit the most. Fungi and bacteria are going to have an evolutionary field day consuming all the plastic and appliances we've created.

That's why pollution is relative. Several centuries from now, the creatures that evolved to consume our waste won't think it was toxicity that gave them life but an overabundance of energy, similar to how the plant kingdom opened up food paths and habitats for the animal kingdom a billion years ago. The kingdom that takes the most advantage will be the most successful. I suppose it is an evil outlook to view our waste as being productive to future species, considering the myriad other ways we are polluting the planet. Currently, we are a disaster; but in the future, we may be seen as heroes for being able to mutate their ancestors to ever higher levels of freakdom. But still not as evil as a cat killing a rabbit out of sheer boredom.