Hazel

 It is with much sadness that we let you know that our sweet little Hazel, the Mini Rex Rabbit passed away last Thursday, 12/13.  She was five years old.

On Tuesday, 12/11 her handlers noted that she seemed to be having trouble eating—often a sign in animals that something is wrong.  They immediately consulted our vet and scheduled her to be seen. Our vet examined her in the morning and was concerned that Hazel could have a cancer.  We continued to give her supportive therapy, but by that afternoon Hazel had passed on.  

A necropsy showed that Hazel succumbed to uterine cancer.  Unfortunately, animals are very good at masking illness and injury since in the wild, if they show signs of illness, this would make them easy prey for predators and even attacks by their own kind.  No matter how sharp-eyed their caretakers are it is often too late by the time the animal exhibits symptoms.

Hazel was a huge favorite with staff and visitors—especially the youngsters.  She was extremely tolerant of the many small hands that loved to stroke our “Velveteen Rabbit”.  Some rabbits are very skittish at being stroked and handled—not so Hazel, who seemed to truly enjoy the human contact.

Hazel will be sorely missed by our staff and the thousands of youngsters who make the bunny enclosure one of their first stops when visiting the Nature Center.