Bunny Flop

The cutest thing my rabbit (any rabbit!) does is the “bunny flop.” Walter rarely does it, so I doubt I’ll ever catch it on camera, but it’s adorable. Basically, the rabbit starts sitting upright and then suddenly flops down on his side, curls into a small semi-circle, and then stretches back out in total relax-mode.

It always catches me by surprise, because one minute, Walter is sitting there looking at me, and the next minute, he’s nestled into a perfect napping position. It’s a sign of true rabbit comfort, I’ve read, since it puts the rabbit in a position in which he can’t be on high-alert for danger. His stomach is exposed, which is rare, and unless something is going on around him, his eyes are small slits while he sleeps.

Walter did the bunny flop twice this weekend. Once on Saturday evening after my mom and I got home from our adventures in DC. I was lying on the living room floor, petting Walter, when out of nowhere – FLOP! – right onto me. The next instance was on Sunday, when Walter was locked in his cage for a time out. He was sitting awkwardly halfway in his wooden cave when he suddenly flopped onto his side, ready for a good nap.

Hands down, it is my favorite rabbit movement (closely followed by the process of Walter washing his face and ears). I found a couple videos on You Tube of someone else’s rabbit doing the Bunny Flop, in case you aren’t sure what I’m talking about:

Now, in this video, picture me as that cat, because this is basically what happened with me and Walter on Saturday night:

Awww!