Family Rabbit Unofficially Ties Guinness World Record In An Unusual Way
Very few families ever find their family pet in the record books. Sure, there have been some doozies like the world's tallest dog, but sometimes pets do something that warrants inclusion in the Guinness Book of World Records for the oddest things — even unofficially. That's what happened to a family in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, reported WFMY News.
The Robins family found their pet rabbit, Vader, unofficially tied a world record when she gave birth to her newest litter. Tiffany Robins told the news outlet the family wasn't even expecting Vader to be pregnant. The rabbit was with a male rabbit named Romeo, which was ironic because the Robins thought he wouldn't be able to romance Vader. As it turns out, even though the Robins were told that Romeo "was fixed," to their surprise, Vader became pregnant and, well, broke into the history books.
When Vader was giving birth, the Robins expected a litter of baby bunnies. After all, rabbits have lousy PR when it comes to breeding. But after the 15th baby — yes, the 15th — Vader still kept going.
All in all, Vader gave birth to 24 babies, tying the current winner for the most number of baby bunnies born. The official record goes to a pair of New Zealand rabbits who had a litter of 24.
Too much for the tired mama rabbit
Vader and Romeo's record-tying achievement isn't part of the Guinness records, mainly because there's an application process, and the organization has to observe and certify the achievement. The Guinness group is no stranger to odd records, even for animals, so even if they were able to verify the experience, they'd be in great company.
WFMY said not all of the 24 babies survived past a few hours since mama Vader just had too many to care for. Robins said the family has stepped up to help their beloved pet and they're working hard to keep as many of the bunnies as healthy as they possibly can.
As for the proud dad? The family let Romeo stay with a friend in the meantime to prevent any more surprise pregnancies. In his place is another female bunny to keep Vader company.
It really gives a new meaning to breeding like rabbits, huh?