Can a rabbit be sad?

Question
Hi.
I really liked your description, so I think you can help me.

I have pet rabbits for almost 10 years now, I love them with all my heart and we do everything for them.
I have a male lion head rabbit that we rescue from a family that abandoned him, he was "only child" for almost one year when we decided to get a companion.
He was neutered, and we addopted a female rabbit. They were so cute together, they became very good friends.
After she was old enough, we decided to neutered her to avoid future problems. It all went well, she was jumping around, drinking and eating, being a normal rabbit, when she suddenly drop dead!
We are devasted, very very sad.
We showed the dead body to the male rabbit, and we think he understood that her friend had died by his reaction. He got nervous, sniffed the body, layed over her and then left.

It's been two days now. We are trying to move on. He is acting normal... he is eating and playing in the house.
But I keep thinking... can a rabbit feel sad? How do I know if he miss her? What can we do?

About the death of the rabbit, the vet said it was probably a reaction from the surgery. We choose not to do a necropsy, though.
I'm sorry for my bad english, it's not my first language.

Thank you.

Answer
Hi Marcia,

I am sorry for the loss of your pet bunny.  I know how hard it can be.  As for your boy bunny he is probably sad but since he saw her body he does realize what happened.  You always have the option of choosing him another mate from a shelter.  The good thing about adopting from a shelter is that the female should already be spayed (hopefully although not all rescues spay) and you wouldn't have to go through the surgery again.  Also he could have 'bunny dates' and choose his own friend.

If you are in the United States a good place to look is the House Rabbit Society.  All of their females are spayed and they know more about rabbits than a humane society would.  They can easily set up an appointment for your boy to meet and greet their eligible female bunnies.  If you are in another country you will just have to look around.  

Again I am sorry for your loss.  

Pam