If you’ve never seen a pair of rabbits fighting, these images captured by a Japanese photography team are a must-see.
Suspended in midair in scenes resembling a martial arts movie, the furry creatures are fiercely engaged in a bunny battle. Poised above ground executing punches and side kicks, the “black-belt” duo look like they’ve been training for months.
Posted on Twitter, the pictures caused an avalanche of replies as users compared the perfectly taken snaps to a series of Manga cartoons and fighter games. The two clever photographers of the bunnies are Maya and Takayuki Nakamura, who live in Kumamoto, on the island of Kyushu.
Calling themselves Rabbit Photographer uta, Maya, 43, and Takayuki, 47, ventured several hours away to Okunoshima island, also known as Rabbit Island, to get the shots.
“I have been going to Okunoshima and shooting rabbits since 2000,” Maya told The Epoch Times.
With a circumference of just 2.6 miles (4.2 kilometers), tiny Okunoshima is a haven for its large bunny population, which live free from natural predators. The rabbits are said to be so used to human visitors that they’ll even give chase for food. On a funny note, with kung fu skills such as these, we’d better hope they don’t outrun the humans.
Takayuki began exploring photography first, starting by taking pictures as a student, and Maya got into it under his influence. Both are clearly talented, and after working as a photographer at a professional studio, Maya became a freelancer.
Traveling to Okunoshima has also been an opportunity for Maya and Takayuki to meet the founders of Usagi Okunoshima, a nonprofit association dedicated to protecting the island’s enormous rabbit family. As nature and animal lovers, the uta team are also strong advocates of this.
“I love rabbits more than anything else,” said Maya, “and we want to prevent humans from negatively impacting their lives.”
The day the duo took the amazing fight photos, they first spotted a single rabbit “showing off his strength” from a distance. So as not to disturb him, they kept far away and began clicking. Before long, the energetic battle scene began with another bunny looking to flex his muscles, and the pair captured all of it. Maya and Takayuki took about 100 images on that day.
Safe to say the warring rabbits were given some treats after their session in the ring: visitors to the island are encouraged to feed the friendly rabbits.
