Sylvilagus floridanus
Copyright, Stan Osolinski
Sylvilagus floridanus
Copyright, Stan Osolinski
The Eastern Cottontail is
a common mammal
that can be seen year-round. It has grayish-brown fur, with
a reddish-brown neck, and a white tail. Eastern Cottontails are
easily recognized by their long ears. This rabbit usually lives
in brushy areas where it can hide. They can be found near
almost any field or woods where there is protection. Some of
their favorite places to hide are under small pine trees,
shrubs,
tangled vines,
briers, and tall grasses.
Cottontails are mostly nocturnal, feeding at night, in the evening, and at dawn. They eat over a hundred different plants. They are not picky and will eat bark, stems, leaves, twigs, branches, flowers, buds, seeds, fruits, and grasses. They tend to eat certain foods, depending on the season. In the Summer they eat more grasses and weeds. Come Winter, they switch to twigs and bark.
Eastern Cottontails
breed
frequently. The males fight each other during breeding
season, and do a "dance" for the females. Females make a
nest lined with plant parts and fur from their belly. The
nest is in the ground and shallow. It's usually covered by
more plants. Mothers nurse their young in the morning and
evening. Eastern Cottontails will have three to four
litters
every year, up to nine young per litter. One reason rabbits breed
so often is because they are preyed upon by many different
animals. Most rabbits live about a year. Some
predators
of Eastern Cottontails are raccoons, foxes, hawks, owls,
crows, snakes, opossum, cats, and dogs. Copyright, John
White
Copyright, Gene Ott
Because Eastern
Cottontails eat so many plants, they poop a lot. You can
recognize it by the pile of dark-brown pea-size pellets.
They actually have two different kinds of poop. One is the
regular kind. The other is soft and green. Sometimes rabbits
will eat very quickly and then go somewher undercover and
safe. They will drop these green pellets and eat them again
later. Eastern Cottontails
usually hop to get around, but they can run fast for short
distances to avoid danger. They usually run in a zig-zag
manner to break the scent trail. They can also leap up to 15
feet. Cottontails can swim, but
don't seem to like getting wet. In cold weather, Eastern
Cottontails will take cover
in old burrows,
especially Woodchuck burrows. Sometimes these rabbits
can be seen standing on their hind legs to look
around. Bill Dunn, Huntley
Meadows Park
Relationships in Nature:
Great Horned Owl
Relationship to Humans:
Eastern Cottontails help people by consuming large amounts of weeds. Unfortunately, they will also eat garden plants and vegetables. If you have rabbits living in your yard, you are more likely to see predators, such as hawks and owls.