Animeals

Rabbit Food

It’s International Rabbit Day and what better way to celebrate our hoppy friends than with a feast of their favorite things to munch on from Zoo Chef Yohn!

Rabbits are considered herbivores, which means they only eat plants like grasses and vegetables. The rabbits that live at the Program Animal Building at the Virginia Zoo are fed a daily diet consisting of hay, greens and a variety of veggies based on seasonality and availability. While some of the rabbits at the Zoo are hop-ortunistic eaters, others can be picky, so Chef Yohn made sure this Animeals was well-suited for everyone.

First, Chef Yohn gathered his ingredients:

• half of a watermelon
• hay
• romaine lettuce
• dandelion
• kale
• papaya chunks
• carrots, cut into cubes and hearts
• blueberries

Chef Yohn scooped out the inside of the watermelon to create a bowl. He then filled the watermelon by weaving the hay together inside to make what appeared as a bird nest. On top of the hay, he strategically placed the greens – romaine, kale and dandelion, and topped the leaves with the papaya, heart-shaped carrots and a few blueberries as a colorful garnish.

In the end, Chef Yohn crafted what is most likely what every rabbit dreams of eating – a perfectly crafted salad bowl, and rabbits Gigi, Flanders, Max and Leo got to dish in on all the fun!