NORFOLK, Va. — Is there a bunny boom happening in Hampton Roads right now?
Typically, when you go for a stroll you may see one or two rabbits in your neighbor’s yard.
But this summer, you may be seeing double, or even triple that.
We’ve seen the bunny sightings across Hampton Roads posted on social media.
One man in Virginia Beach reported seeing 28 of them during a recent walk.
Reports like these seem to suggest we’re seeing more rabbits these days, but we may not be able to close the case scientifically.
That’s because a lot of factors are at play, according to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
The rabbit population is cyclical, with boom-and-bust years. When they boom, they really boom…you’ve heard the idiom "breed like rabbits."
According to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, a male cottontail and its doe can multiply into 25 rabbits in less than a year!
And right now, is when their mating cycle peaks.
We also had a mild winter, which means they may have started breeding earlier in the year than usual.
Wildlife officials also say there may be fewer predators like foxes around town.
But the problem with officially calling it a rabbit boom, though, is that it’s hard to track the actual population.
According to wildlife officials, rabbits have short lifespans, and by the time any research is collected, a cycle could have ended.
But anecdotally, based on all of the sightings and pictures we’ve heard and seen, we can certainly say, it’s been an exceptionally good year for cottontails in Hampton Roads.