DiamondEcho wrote: He could spot a rabbit's ears from a long way off, would ask us to wait, and he'd crouch slightly and at a steady pace walk directly to it, lean over and pick it up. Then as children we'd all run over to look at it And they were 100% wild rabbits, it wasn't a rabbit farm or anything I still don't know how he did it. I tried it out on my own a few times but it never worked, never got closer than say 15M.
It certainly sounds like quite an unusual skill, my first thought was myxomatosis might have allowed him to walk up and take rabbits (was common enough abong recovering rabbit poplns from the 60's to the 80's, and still regularly encountered even now), it's pretty easy to walk up to a myxy rabbit. It is also possible to induce tonic immobility in a rabbit once youve got a hold of it by turning it on its back, some pet owners do this (often called 'trancing') but it can be quite stressful for the animlas so not generally reccomended by vets or responsible owners unless you need to animal to stay still for an important reason such as treating an injury.
I've seen the shark thing on videos, they are possibly the best know animal for exibiting this behaviour, although presumably it occurs for different reasons than it does for prey species such as rabbits. Must have been pretty amazing to see close up first hand, but to be honest I think I'd be too nervous around a school of sharks, I'll stick to rabbits!
BH