COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A new partnership with the Ohio Wildlife Center has the team at COSI hopping into action.

Since this spring, 90 bunnies have been rehabilitated with a 100 percent success rate at COSI. The program was started as a way to help the veterinarians in residence and interns learn about caring for animals, but it has blossomed into so much more.

The program also gives the folks at COSI and the Ohio Wildlife Center a chance to dispel misconceptions, such as when an animal needs help and when it doesn’t.

“They grow really fast so they’re typically only with us for about a week or two and then they’re able to be released. And they’re not very big,” said Laurie Miller of COSI. “So, people will think they’ve been abandoned when they see them out their yards when really, they’re actually already weaned, so you can just let them be.”

They say if you see a bunny in the wild, don’t try to feed it. You may do more harm than good.

“The first instinct everyone has is this thing needs to eat. It’s hungry, and I want to feed it. How do I feed it? So, they start googling and when you start googling you find all kinds of ways to feed things,” said David Donahue of the Ohio Wildlife Center. 

The good news is the rabbits in this partnership are being helped the right way and there are ways to interact with them while they are at COSI.

“Rabbits are one of our most common animals that are fed improperly before coming to our hospital,” Donahue said. “So, we want to teach the importance of their diet, their feeding techniques, and why we use licensed rehabbers to do that method.”

You can catch the new stage show featuring the bunnies in the nursery and via live feed, you can ask questions and see the bunnies being cared for in real time. You can also view the bunnies on live feed via the COSI YouTube channel.