Sometimes the circle of life is brutal, but it is best to let nature take its course.

Get our free mobile app

Nature Isn't Always Pretty

I'll save you the super graphic photos, but let's be honest, nature isn't always pretty.  Sometimes nature is actually pretty brutal. Sure it's not a great image to have in your head, but sometimes cute fluffy animals are food for other animals.  For instance, the way Orcas eat seals or the way lions eat zebras or the way snakes eat rabbits.  Sometimes nature is absolutely breathtakingly beautiful, but sometimes the circle of life is not.

Human Intervention Sometimes Hurts More Than it Helps

If you are in the woods and you catch a glimpse of a snake making a meal out of a small rabbit, it's best not to interfere. Sure it's not a pretty sight, and it's sad for the rabbit, but snakes have to eat too. And sure, snakes aren't nearly as cute and fluffy as rabbits, but they still serve a purpose in our ecosystem and should be left to serve that purpose.

Blue Ridge Wildlife Center Speaks Out

The reason for bringing this up is Blue Ridge Wildlife Center in Virginia recently had a post go semi-viral after they posted about a rabbit being "rescued" from a snake.  They are a wildlife hospital that helps treat injured or orphaned wildlife from situations when necessary, but they said this is the second time someone brought in a rabbit from this situation, which is just a natural part of the food web, as sad as the reality is.

Here's what their post had to say about the rabbit:

This Eastern Cottontail was taken out of the mouth of a snake. Surprisingly, it is the SECOND Eastern Cottontail we've received because of this specific circumstance in a week!

Wildlife hospitals like ours intervene when animals are orphaned or injured due to human causes. Not to interfere with native predator/prey interactions.

We do NOT recommend interfering with native predators when they're in the process of catching or consuming prey. These animals spend a lot of time and resources to catch and consume a meal. Interfering with this natural cycle causes them to waste precious energy, and can cause significant health impacts to the animal and any offspring it may have. Once a meal is snatched away, another prey animal will likely die to replace that meal. So, if the "rescued" prey animal cannot be saved, MORE deaths are being caused than necessary.