5:14 p.m.
Hello All,
A friend of a friend contacted me this week as she heard that we have rabbits in our yard.
She is making a documentary on rabbits in urban neighbourhoods for the CBC TV show “The
Nature of Things” and PBS Nature. She wants to get some film of rabbits in an urban
neighbourhood doing things like preparing for having babies by gathering nesting
materials, etc. Would anyone be interested in helping out by permitting a cameraperson to
enter onto their properties when the filming is happening (late spring, early summer)?
Her exact request, especially the highlighted area is below follows. If anyone has
anything to share with Susan or wants to help out by permitting her on their property,
please let me know and I will connect you by email or you can write her directly at Susan
Fleming qfilms@zing-net.ca<mailto:qfilms@zing-net.ca>
Many thanks!
Martha
Hi Martha,
It was great to speak to you and your son today about rabbits in your neighbourhood. I was
very excited to hear that you have reliably seen young rabbits on your front lawn. I can
not tell you how difficult it has been for me to find anyone who has noticed them at this
age. Too bad about the lawnmower but it is a more common story than you would expect. I
still haven’t got the full answer from scientists about why cottontails nest right in the
middle of the lawn where we are likely to run over them but I suspect it has something to
do with hiding in plain sight from predators.
As discussed, I would love to come up and film rabbits at your place this summer. We are
searching for places to film expectant rabbit mothers gathering materials to line their
nest and then young rabbits once they start to leave the nest and learn the ways of the
world. It sounds like your front lawn might be a wonderful place to do this. Ideally we
could film in your neighbourhood in late May/ early June which is a prime time for getting
these kinds of shots.
I would love to take you up on your kind offer to reach out to your neighbours and ask
them if they ever see rabbits gathering nest materials (dry grass usually) and/or young
rabbits on their properties and if so when so I can try to narrow down the best window of
opportunity for gathering footage. It would also be wonderful if they would be am mendable
to us filming on their properties as well if possible.
Just so you know who we are - I am an award-winning nature filmmaker with over 25 years of
experience making films on wildlife. This filming is for a one-hour nature documentary
tentatively entitled “Remarkable Rabbits” that will air on CBC’s "The Nature of
Things” and PBS NATURE. I work consistently with the same small, highly experienced crew
who are extremely respectful and knowledgeable. One of my cameramen, Hugo Kitching, grew
up in Ottawa and his parents still live there so he is who would accompany me to film
rabbits in your neighbourhood. Hugo is a super nice guy, highly adept at disappearing into
the landscape to film wildlife from a distance so as not to affect the natural behaviour
of the animals.
I would be oh so grateful if you could ask your neighbours about their experiences with
rabbits and get back to me at your earliest convenience so we can tailor a plan for
filming in your neighbourhood
Many, many thanks for your help with this. As the song says “I’m so excited” !!
Best,
Susan
Susan Fleming
Producer/Director
Remarkable Rabbits Inc.
Mobile: (416) 520-9899
Office: (905) 649-3337
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