Bunnies attack! A female tourist was caught on video, running away from dozens of rabbits that were chasing her, and the video has now gone viral.
The female tourist was on a tour of a very small island in Japan called Okunoshima. The island was once used as the secret base for the Japanese Imperial Army's lethal gas operation during World War II. Between the year 1929 and 1945, over 6,000 tons of poison gas were secretly manufactured and tested in the island. The area, which was only about 2.5 miles wide, was omitted in maps of Japan at the time.
Some stories say that at some point, several rabbits were brought into the island to be used for testing the efficacy of mustard gas. After the war ended, the manufacture of poison gas was abandoned. The rabbits were released from the factories, and left to roam free on the entire island.
Another story says that children on a field trip to the island in 1971, released eight rabbits there and left them.
Irrespective of whichever story is true, since rabbits breed fast and the island provided them with the appropriate habitat, sufficient food and lack of predators, the rabbits grew in number. This earned the island its now-popular nickname, 'Rabbit Island.'
The video got almost half a million views just one day after it was uploaded. Visitors who have been to the island have also uploaded photos of the bunnies, which further invited more visitors to the island. Now it has become a popular tourist spot, where people go to feed and pet the bunnies, which apparently are not shy at all, as the video revealed.
The island is dotted with ruins of old buildings and factories that are partially destroyed by the elements and largely overgrown by foliage. Kyukamura Okunoshima Hotel, located in the island and open to the public, said that they have experienced an upsurge of visitors to the island ever since the photos and videos of the bunnies have surfaced on many websites and social networking sites.
Apparently, people love being chased by the bunnies. Check out the video of the funny bunnies below.
