| Oolong ウーロン |
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|---|---|
Oolong balancing a waffle on his head in his last "head performance" |
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| Other appellation(s) | Oolong the rabbit The pancake rabbit |
| Breed | Rabbit |
| Sex | Male |
| Born | July 28, 1994 Hokkaidō, Japan |
| Died | January 7, 2003 (aged 8) Hokkaidō, Japan |
| Nation from | Japan |
| Years active | 1999-2003 |
| Website | |
| Oolong's Photo journal | |
Oolong (ウーロン Ūron) (July 28, 1994 – January 7, 2003), named after the oolong variety of tea, was a domestic rabbit owned by photographer Hironori Akutagawa. The rabbit was famous for his ability to balance a variety of objects on his head.
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Oolong was a well known Internet phenomenon, through a large array of photographs posted by Akutagawa on his website. The site featured "photo journeys" of the domestic rabbit traveling with his master through the house, yard, and other locations. The website became known to a wider audience when it was covered in 2001 by Syberpunk, a site which focuses on odd things in Japanese culture.
Oolong was trained to balance objects on his head, an art called "Head Performance" by his owner.[1] The first object balanced on Oolong's head was a 35mm film canister on 25 May 1999.[2] Soon, Akutagawa had the rabbit balance a variety of things on his head, including tea cups, bread, fruit, pancakes (actually dorayaki), and even a rabbit skull. Although most reactions on the Internet were positive, there were some complaints by people who believed the practice to be cruel to animals. In response, Akutagawa wrote in a message to website visitors: "Some visitors have written me e-mails, accusing me of being cruel to my rabbit and that I am abusing my pet. This was never my intention when I included numerous links to photographs, showing Oolong's unique ability to hold objects on his head. This is not a site to mock rabbits, or demonstrate animal abuse. I'm sure you understand it if you see whole my site [sic]."
Throughout the rabbit's lifetime, the photographer continued to document his journeys through natural and not-so-natural environments as well as take hundreds of pictures of the rabbit balancing objects. Oolong has been noticed by the media, including the New York Times,[3] and has become a widespread Internet meme. The best known of Oolong's photographs was one that was widely used as an image macro called "Bunny Wafflehead", which featured Oolong balancing a dorayaki on his head. Another popular photograph is Oolong with a pancake on its head with the caption "I have no idea what you're talking about... so here's a bunny with a pancake on its head."[4]
The head performance is actually a result of domestic rabbits' natural tendency to cuddle with each other, other animals (like housecats), and their owners by putting their heads underneath the other's chin.
Oolong died on January 7, 2003. Akutagawa took photographs of the rabbit's last moments alive and has included it in his website. Akutagawa now owns a new rabbit by the name of Yuebing (ユエビン Yuebin), which he hopes to raise in a way similar to Oolong.[5] Yuebing continues the theme of Chinese foods, Yuebing being Chinese for Mooncake.