LINCOLN SQUARE — In nearly 20 years of rescuing rabbits, Patricia Cora has never heard of anything like the three wild bunnies found in Lincoln Square with pierced ears.
"Never, ever. Ever," said Cora, a volunteer with Red Door Animal Shelter and head of the Rabbit Advocacy Network Midwest Region.
On Monday evening, Cora led a group of neighbors and members of Chicago's bunny community on a rescue mission in the area — bounded by Lincoln, Rockwell, Ainslie and Winnemac — where the pierced bunnies have been spotted since May, with objects including key fobs dangling from their ears.
The sightings drew outrage from neighbors, and conservation police with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources opened an investigation into the apparent cruelty to the animals.
Owners of domesticated rabbits will often tattoo the inside of their pets' ears for identification purposes, but to hang "trinkets" off wild animals is "not normal," Sgt. Jed Whitchurch said.
Armed with blankets, X-pens (kind of like playpens for animals), gloves and carriers — sprayed with apple juice and covered with hay to disguise human scent — Monday's team of volunteers fanned out to corral the bunnies.
"It was pretty incredible to watch," Cora said. "More and more people kept showing up. I thought, 'This is awesome.'"
Two of the rabbits were contained within a half-hour, found close to where they had been most frequently spotted. The third, and presumably final, bunny was in the worst shape and took another hour to capture.
"It was definitely stressed," said Cora. "Its ears were ripped through all the way to the top."
The bunnies, all three of which were pierced in both ears, have been transported to Flint Creek Wildlife, which specializes in the rehabilitation of injured animals before returning them to their natural habitat.
"They all needed care," Cora said. "It's a relief they're someplace safe."
Neighbors cheered the news on social media.
"All 3 that we know of have been caught!!!," neighbor Marian Nixon posted to Facebook. "They are on their way to get unmutilated!!"
The rabbits were the first wild bunnies Cora has captured, which required her to obtain a temporary permit from wildlife authorities.
The plight of the bunnies in Lincoln Square sparked concern not only among rabbit lovers but from neighbors worried about the motives of the perpetrator, who remains at large.
"Let's face it, everybody's heard that when you abuse an animal, it can go to another level," Cora said. "We have no idea where this could lead. This is an alarm — somebody has a problem."
Though Cora said she hopes the Lincoln Square pierced trio are the unknown offender's only victims, she's heard there may have been another rabbit tied up to fencing with ropes.
"This might be continuing," she said of the saga, but added that there's one positive side to the abuse coming to light: "A lot of people are watching now."
Anyone with information about this case should contact the conservation police at 847-608-3100. Wild bunnies can be distinguished from pets by the gray-brown color, known as agouti, of their coats.
