Baby rabbits abandoned by mother rescued by police officer in New Mexico

"(He) placed the bunnies in his safety vest and cared for them..."

A pair of baby rabbits who were abandoned by their mother have been rescued by a police officer in New Mexico. The wild cottontail bunnies were found out the back of a Home Depot Store by Joshua Herrera earlier this week. The officer spotted one of the bunnies sitting on a wall "covered with ants." He soon saw the second rabbit nearby also with many insects covering its fur. Herrera removed the ants from the rabbits and place them in a nearby bush, hoping that they would hop to safety. However, when he checked on the buns half an hour later, he discovered that they were still there and that the ants had returned. "Once again, the officer removed the ants and had to use the blade of a knife to remove the heads of a few ants that were imbedded in the bunnies," said Las Cruces Police Department on Facebook. "Herrera placed the bunnies in his safety vest and cared for them until a representative from the Stick House Sanctuary, a licensed wildlife rehabilitation facility in El Paso, came to Las Cruces and took custody of the two rabbits." The bunnies, who are now being looked after by the nearby animal rehabilitation centre, are said to be "doing well." It remains unclear whether their mother has been found.