Overview
- Two baby rabbits were spotted on the Valaris Norway rig at Ithaca Energy’s Cygnus gas field about 93 miles off the Lincolnshire coast.
- The rig crew caught the pair, set them up in the radio room with water and vegetables, and sent them by boat to Aberdeen for handover to New Arc Wildlife Rescue near Ellon.
- After the FS Aquarius support vessel returned to the field, a third rabbit was found hiding in a forklift pocket and was taken back to Aberdeen to be reunited with its siblings.
- New Arc co-manager Paul Reynolds said the rabbits are healthy, gaining weight, and showed little stress on arrival thanks to careful feeding with kitchen supplies in a tough offshore setting.
- Rescuers believe the animals hid in a Dundee container that traveled to Aberdeen and then offshore, highlighting a known risk in supply runs where stowaway wildlife can ride with equipment.