Cute vs. cars

This blog is constantly warning that cute, inoffensive animals are more dangerous than you think. But even I was surprised by this headline:

Bunnies attacking cars at Denver airport

You might think that the winner would be obvious in a fight between a rabbit and a one ton-vehicle, but you underestimate the sneakiness of their methods: They get underneath parked cars and chew on the insulation around the wiring. The damage caused can run from hundreds to thousands of dollars to fix.

To add insult to injury, the city and parking lot operators say the terms of parking permits absolve them of responsibility, and local news even reports that insurance doesn't cover rabbit damage (I assume the person who put that exclusion in the policy is a faithful reader of this blog).

Officials aren't just standing idly by, but so far their methods have apparently been ineffective. Removing hundreds of bunnies a month is no use when more rabbits rush to fill the gap. Drivers have been reduced to coating wires with coyote urine in an attempt to repel the gnawing hordes.

No doubt part of the problem is that more aggressive methods run the risk of provoking opposition from humans who don't know whose side they should be on. "We’re going to try as many natural things as possible," one employee said, obviously hoping to sound like a bunny-hugger, but I'm glad to report that in fact they know exactly what the "natural" method is in a case like this, and they're finally getting serious:

“We’re also going to build raptor perches for the hawks and eagles.”