Baby Bunnies Adorably Force Pope Park Playground Slide to Close

UPDATE: On May 7, Acushnet Animal Control Officer Rebekah Tomlinson informed us that the bunnies had moved on and the slide has reopened. She thanked everyone for their patience.

ACUSHNET (WBSM) — A slide at the Pope Park playground in Acushnet is currently out of commission, but for the cutest of reasons: baby bunnies are nestled at its base.

Acushnet Animal Control Officer Rebekah Tomlinson told WBSM that the four baby rabbits are healthy and fine where they are, and that they are not in any danger despite their mom’s odd choice of a nesting site at the base of a playground slide.

“I spoke with a wildlife rehabber and it is best that we leave them,” she said. “They will be leaving the nest in the next four to five days.”

In the meantime, that particular slide has been roped off, and children cannot use it until the bunnies leave the nest.

“Children can still go in there and utilize the other slide and wings, but they cannot go to this one,” Tomlinson said.

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Tomlinson said she will be going and checking on the bunnies frequently to make sure they are OK, and the slide will be reopened once they leave the nest.

Some residents were wondering if the baby rabbits – called kits – had been abandoned by their mother, since there was never an adult rabbit around them.

However, according to A-Z-Animals.com, rabbits only nurse their babies “for about five to 10 minutes per day,” so it’s not uncommon to see babies alone in the nest.

The site said Eastern cottontail rabbits “will seek a low-lying area in which they can build a safe nest for their babies,” and it appears the Pope Park playground was exactly what Momma Bunny was looking for in a nesting site.