It’s not everyday an albino rabbit laps you on the track.

During their after school practice, the girls varsity track team came across Fifa, a rabbit that was abandoned by a family and left near the Queens College track.

The track team immediately brought the bunny to school and found science teacher Sarah Oberlander, who was advising Senior/Sophomore SING at the time. “The girls really wanted to keep the bunny, so we immediately brought the bunny to Ms. Fee,” said Ms. Oberlander.

Ellen Fee, Assistant Principal of Organization, Health, and Physical Education, helped shelter and feed the bunny prior to asking Principal Anthony Barbetta for permission to keep it.

“Mr. Barbetta and Ms. Fee let us keep the bunny, so we took it to the vet and had it checked out. There are a variety of names going around the school, such as Velvet and Dash, but the students officially named it Fifa.”

Fifa is an albino New Zealand White rabbit.  These rabbits are usually bred for their meat and fur, but are very intelligent and have often been used as research animals.

Ms. Oberlander didn’t think it right to let Fifa remain a permanent resident of Townsend Harris’s halls. “Fifa is about half a year to a year old. He’s really mannered and well tempered, but I couldn’t bear to leave him in school alone overnight. Fifa lives with me; he loves to run around my house and he jumps really high.”

Although Fifa now resides in Ms.Oberlander’s home, he is an official member of the Townsend Harris community.

“I’ll try to bring him to school more often, because the kids really love him and have grown affection for him,” said Ms. Oberlander.