Bunnies ‘doing well’ after rescue from North Sea drilling rig

Three baby rabbits have been rescued after being found on a drilling rig in the North Sea.

It is thought the bunnies had taken up residence in an offshore container in Dundee, having found a “nice warm place to hide”.

The container was then transported to Aberdeen and loaded on to a boat bound for the Cygnus gas field, 93 miles off the Lincolnshire coast.

There the container was transferred to the Valaris Norway rig, at Ithaca Energy’s Cygnus platform, where two of the intrepid creatures “took freedom and were found running around the pipe deck”.

After the pair were rescued by the crew, who were at the time unaware there was a third, they were taken to New Arc Wildlife Rescue near Ellon in Aberdeenshire.

In a statement on social media, the rescue centre said of the animals’ discovery on the rig: “The crew immediately activated rescue mode and safely caught the two bunnies, setting them up with a warm bed and some fresh veggies and water.

“The Valaris crew kept them safe in the radio room before they were transported back down to the vessel to resume their travels by boat back to Aberdeen.”

It was only when the boat – the FS Aquarius – returned to the rig that the third stowaway bunny was discovered.

“After those two bunnies made their journey back across the North Sea and were safely dropped off at New Arc Wildlife Rescue, the FS Aquarius returned to the Cygnus field and later found a third bunny hiding in a forklift pocket,” the wildlife centre added.

“It was rescued and was very well looked after by the crew on the vessel, transported back to Aberdeen and is now safely reunited with its siblings.

“A huge thank-you to the crews on board Cygnus, Valaris Norway and the FS Aquarius – who all put maximum effort and care into ensuring these rabbits got back safely to dry land.

“All three rabbits are now doing well at our rescue centre, and eating us out of house and home.”