Letters from the May 21, 2005, issue of Science News
By Science News
Rascal rabbits
Evidence of animals sensing where people are looking and what they’re seeing is interesting yet hardly new (“Monkey See, Monkey Think: Grape thefts instigate debate on primate’s mind,” SN: 3/12/05, p. 163). For years, I have observed that wild rabbits will remain motionless as long as I stare in their direction. But as soon as I avert my eyes or turn my head, the rabbit is gone. Clearly, they correctly interpret that they no longer will be seen if they move, and they act on that knowledge.