A wild rabbit’s venture into the Animas River on Friday turned icy when it froze to a rock. But firefighters rushed to the bunny’s aid and pried it from the stone.
More than 10 spectators gathered on the Ninth Street Bridge to witness the rescue, which involved a bucket of hot water and two firefighters in wading boots.
A passerby noticed the marooned bunny and called Animal Control at about 9:45 a.m., said Dave Imming, spokesman for the Durango Fire Department. Animal Control requested assistance from the fire department, he said.
"It was soaking wet, and was frozen to the rock, just like someone putting their tongue to a pole," he said.
Imming and firefighter Dave Strobel waded about 25 feet from the shore, into knee-deep water, to rescue the cottontail bunny.
The animal screamed and tried to get away, but was solidly stuck to the rock, Strobel said. "When I got close, he was just ripping his fur off trying to get away," Strobel said.
Imming said the firefighters thought they were going to have to shoot the bunny, until a neighbor brought them a bucket of hot water to help dislodge the frightened animal from the rock.
"I poured hot water on its legs to defrost them and then the rabbit came right off," he said. Officers from La Plata County Animal Control wrapped the wild rabbit in a towel with a hot pack in it, and let it warm up for about 15 minutes before releasing it at Greenmount Cemetery, said officer Dan Parsons.
"After a couple minutes, he just took off like nothing was wrong," Parsons said. "It was quite a spectacle."
Parsons said cottontails do not normally hop into rivers for occasional swims. So, it is likely the bunny was chased into the Animas River by a coyote or a dog, he said.
Cottontails have sharp teeth and claws that could have scratched the firefighters, but the rabbits become very submissive when grabbed by their necks, he said. "They become docile when they know they can’t do anything," Parsons said. "After a while, the rabbit just chilled out."
Parsons and the firefighters agreed that the one-hour bunny rescue was the first of its kind for Durango.
"It’s probably something that happens out in the wild a lot, but in town, people just don’t see that," Imming said.
Caption: Durango firefighter Dave Strobel helped free a cottontail rabbit Friday morning after its paws froze to a rock in the middle of the Animas River, under the Ninth Street Bridge.