WHAT IT IS
A fluffle of rabbits found near Hunters Mountain, Cape Breton Nova Scotia have been found to have extremely high levels of the herbicide 2,4,5 T. Students from Dalhousie University stumbled across the bunnies while doing forest inventory work near the community. The odd demeanor and disheveled appearance of the rabbits, prompted the students to delve deeper into what was causing this situation. This discovery has raised alarm bells because the chemical in question was banned from use in 1985.
The Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forests asked Monsanto to investigate because they were contracted by the department in the 1980’s and 90’s to do herbicide work all over Cape Breton. A third- party investigator, Cinder Willoughby, has also been brought in.
WHAT IT IS NOT
On Sunday mornings Margaret Brookside often takes the short drive from Beaver Falls to Ellwood City to check out the activity around the stone trestle that has morphed into a mini tourist attraction by folks from around the county and beyond. If she gets there early enough the crowds are usually thin and she gets an unobstructed view of the goings on.
On her last visit a rabbit emerged carrying two oak leaves in it’s mouth. When Margaret went to look at the leaves, leaf miners had carved 46.1300N on one leaf and 81.7211W on the other. It was a few days later when Margaret discovered the numbers were more or less the latitude and longitude of Willis Mountain, Ontario Canada.