LEWISTON — It started in the car on the way to the animal shelter.

Surprise! A baby bunny.

Then while the pet rabbits were settling in at the Greater Androscoggin Humane Society, it happened again.

Another baby bunny.

That night . . . the next day . . . and the day after that.

Baby bunny.

Baby bunny.

Baby bunny.

Suddenly, the 79 relinquished rabbits had blossomed into 142. So far.

“They’re multiplying,” said Development Director Donna Kincer.

Like, well, rabbits.

The Greater Androscoggin Humane Society received the rabbits two weeks ago after they were turned over to the state. The rabbits had been living in a shed, but were fed and generally well cared for. Their breeding, however, had gotten out of control and their owner was overwhelmed.

Shelter workers separated males and females first thing, but the damage had already been done.

One litter was born on the way to the shelter. Others came soon after.

So many, in fact, that the shelter posted a sign warning volunteers to look out for female rabbits building nests — a sure sign that their bunny boom was about to get bigger by a litter. Or more.

“We had five litters born on Wednesday,” Operations Manager Zachary Black said.

The shelter has been spaying and neutering the animals, but rabbits require specialized — and expensive — care, and not a lot of vets will do the surgery.  

“We can’t do it fast enough,” Kincer said.

For now, the male rabbits have been placed in the hallway or on the adoption floor. Sixteen of them have found new homes, bringing the number of rabbits down to 126.

At least until another one is born.

The female rabbits — and their ever-expanding families — have taken over the room the shelter had been using to assess new animals. Cages are stacked on top of each other, each with shredded newspaper, bowls of food and often, a new mother and her three to seven babies.

The shelter has given up trying to name them all. R15 is white rabbit with two white baby bunnies and a brown baby with a white stripe on its nose. R18 is a black rabbit with sleek black newborns. R64 is a brown rabbit with brown and gray 2-week-old offspring, who sit calmly in the palm of a volunteer’s hand, tiny noses twitching.

The shelter has gotten some help. Six volunteers a day clean the cages and care for the rabbits. PetSmart Charities donated crates, supplies and $7,000 to help pay for spaying and neutering. And people have dropped off food and supplies.

But it hasn’t been quite enough.

Shelter leaders believe they’ll spend $20,000 on spaying and neutering by the time they’re done. Every day, they’re going through 40 pounds of rabbit food, a bale of hay and “endless veggies,” Black said.

The shelter needs more of it all — volunteers, food, hay and vegetables.

“We have no veggies left,” Black said. “And we’d had a ton of veggies.”  

Adoptive homes would also be good.

“A lot of people don’t realize that bunnies do make great pets,” Black said. “I think they think of them as more of a farm animal. But all of these bunnies can be handled really easily. They’re social. The majority of the males that were adopted, people have sent us updates of them sitting on their couches, litter box trained, playing with their dogs and cats.”

Because rabbits must be 6 to 8 weeks old to be adopted, the babies are too young for new homes yet. But a number of adults are up for adoption, and the babies will need homes in the next several weeks.

The shelter’s baby bunny boom is not likely to end anytime soon. Rabbits stay pregnant for 30 days. Two are already nesting. Others may be pregnant, but shelter leaders just don’t know it yet. But Black has a pretty good idea of what the answer is.

“Probably,” Black said.

Have an idea for Animal Tales? Call Lindsay Tice at 689-2854 or email her at [email protected].