The Uni student’s car had refused to start that morning.
He had almost made it to the bus stop when the car pulled up beside him. When the side window went down he recognised the driver. It was the Head of Animal Science at the university. This was very nice of him, he thought, realising that he must have recognised him from the Engineering building in the adjacent block. He climbed in, thanking the driver. The elderly professor only smiled. The car was very comfortable, with soft seats and a good heater. Nothing was said until they were crossing the common. The car lurched with a double thump. This stretch of road was notorious for running over rabbits. The student turned and checked out the road kill through the back window while the other slowly shook his head.
The student broke the silence. “Stupid animals,” he said, under his breath. He looked out at the meadows where he knew there were rabbit warrens. “Every year, this happens,” he went on. He looked across at the old man, feeling that he could say his piece, “If you were in one of the fields and you came across one of these animals, you couldn’t get close to it before it takes off like a rocket. Yet, when it comes to roads… well, that’s another matter. They seem to deliberately run out in front of a vehicle and, well, chance their luck I suppose. Of course they don’t always make it.”
He looked back at the professor, who was smiling.
“I’ve a bit of a theory about that,” the younger man said, emboldened by the other’s silence. “I think the male rabbits do it deliberately, showing off in front of the females. Demonstrating how brave and clever they are to come so close to death. By impressing the females like this improves their chances of being chosen for mating.”
The student fell silent for a couple of minutes, then began to shake his head.
“No. That’s not right,” he whispered. “No, that can’t be right. If that was the case and natural selection kicked in, well, future breeding would produce a predominately brave and clever rabbit that by virtue of its nature, would never get run over!” He glanced at the man who had a degree in animal science and had probably written several papers on wildlife conservation, and said, “That’s right, isn’t it?”
At this point the professor pulled into his allotted parking space at the university and switched the engine off.
The student repeated, “That’s right, wouldn’t you say?”
The professor wagged his finger, “Yes, but…”