It just dawned on me that I never see elderly rabbits or squirrels in nature. Actually, that goes for most varmints of similar nature. In my mind, the life span of a rabbit or squirrel has to be around 1-2 years, max, right? They're always being killed off during, I'd say, the human equivolence of being in the mid 30 age range, if they're lucky. It's kind of tragic, they're seemingly always being ran over by a car, eaten by a bigger animal, hunted by man, or...something, I don't know, before they get to do anything with their lives besides reproduce. They almost never die from old age. It's such a shame. I want a rabbit to be really old and be like, you know what, I can't hop anymore. My hips gave out two years back. I've seen it all, I can finally die now.
Or, have you ever seen a really old squirrel, with gray hair, climbing up trees? I want a squirrel to have a really cool penthouse apartment that he's maintained for many years, and then one winter night during hibernation, with his belly full of nuts, just passes away in his sleep in the comfort of his own home.
Instead, I always see squirrels smashed in the road with their furry tails flapping in the breeze. Or I see rabbit furs for sale at every gas station/merchant mart in the Midwest. You know, right there with all of the Native American novelty goods.
Oh, and to be clear, I'm talking about wild varmints, too. Not caged ones. I mean, we've all seen old dogs before. Their faces turn gray, they hobble around when their bones get brittle and joints are out of whack, and eventually they get so old that they're blind, deaf, and pushed around in baby strollers like this nice lady down the street does for her old Shih Tzu. I always stop and say hi to both of them. And we've all seen mangy, old cats with their hair getting all clumpy and tails are kind of nappy looking and slightly bent...plus they have that mean, raspy meow that completely dates them. Old cat alert, no mistaking them.
So, prove me wrong. The next time you're on a walk outside, look around for the tell-tale signs of aging rabbits or squirrels. Take a picture of one, too. I need photo evidence in order to believe they exist--witness testimonies or personal accounts won't suffice.
Hard evidence only.
