Flemish Giant rabbit to appear with Megyn Kelly and Corbin Maxey on NBC’s ‘Today’ show
Long Island Game Farm's Chela Novak holds Gabriella, a Flemish Giant rabbit. Credit: Long Island Game Farm
Long Island’s own Flemish Giant rabbit named Gabriella will be a star for a day on Friday when it appears on the “Today” show on NBC.
Gabriella, who was donated recently to the Long Island Game Farm in Manorville, will appear with animal expert Corbin Maxey during host Megyn Kelly’s 9 a.m. hour.
“We wanted to feature something with a ‘wow’ factor,” Maxey says. Gabriella is amazing because she is so big — she tips the scales at 15 pounds. “When I saw the actual bunny, it was shocking,” Maxey says. “Just the size. They are the largest rabbit breed in the world.”
Gabriella will appear along with five other animals, Maxey says, including a two-toed sloth named Albert Einstein and a tamandua anteater named Gus.
The Game Farm has gotten Gabriella gussied up for the close up. “We just trimmed its toe nails and bathed it,” says Game Farm co-owner Melinda Novak.
Flemish rabbits were originally bred for food and fur, which is why they are so big, Novak says. “People don’t want to hear that,” she says. “They’re just the cuddliest things.”
Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.
