This Year's Bumper Crop: Rabbits
(CBS) -- They're cute, cuddly -- and to gardeners, a big nuisance.
We're talking about rabbits. And this year, they seem to be everywhere.
CBS 2's Roseanne Tellez looks into why these creatures are multiplying like … rabbits.
In yards and bushes, near parked cars and hopping along sidewalks in the city and suburbs, rabbits seem to be coming out of the woodwork this summer.
"I did actually mention to someone the other day that I saw a lot more," North Side resident Paula Taylor says.
An Urban wildlife expert at Lincoln Park Zoo says one reason could be the polar vortex, which killed off a lot of rabbits and created extra habitat – and killed off rabbit predators.
"Since they breed so much faster than hawks and coyotes and crows, they're potentially going to outpace their predators this year," Mason Fidino says.
"They are dong what rabbits do best," he adds.
Not good news for gardeners.
"They eat my bulbs, flowers, my little grandchildren chase them," North Side Rosemary Jacobshagen says.
She says the rabbits have become "city-fied."
If you do want to get rabbits out of your garden you can buy repellent that won't hurt your plants at the local nursery. Also, be sure to keep your grass mowed; rabbits love tall grass.