Eastern Cottontail Rabbit    

Introduction

The Eastern Cottontail rabbit is the most common rabbit encountered. The upper body is reddish or grayish brown, and the under parts are white. The cottontail is also distinguished by a distinctly rust-colored nape and often has a white spot on the forehead. Average weight of Eastern cottontail rabbits is 2-4 lbs, with females being larger than males. The cottontail rabbit prefers disturbed habitats, occurring most commonly in brushy areas, old fields, woods, cultivated areas, thickets, and brush piles. Habitats with heavy cover are needed for rest and escape from predators. They like to dust bathe. An Easter Cottontail establishes a home range of about 5 acres and remains in it throughout the year. There is some evidence that rabbits mark certain spots within their home range by rubbing the sides of their face on twigs.

Food Habits

Rabbits are vegetarian and eat a wide variety of plants. During spring and summer, they eat grasses, leaves, shoots, fruits, branch tips, buds, and bark. They prefer clover, chickweed, goldenrod, strawberry, blackberry, wild cherry, and grape. During winter, rabbits eat primarily woody plants, such as bark from dogwood, sumac, maple, and oaks. Grains such as corn and soybeans also provide a source of high-energy food. They may frequent bird feeders to scavenge for seed on the ground. They use dew on plants for water and tend to leave scat where they eat.

Family Life

The peak of breeding occurs in May and June. The female, or doe, seeks a well-drained location for her nest, which is an excavated pit lined with grass, leaves, moss, and fur that is plucked from her thoracic and abdominal areas. The doe provides care of the young for 2 weeks after birth. Rabbits are extremely prolific breeders and may have as many as seven litters during one breeding season. As many as half of the female rabbits born early in the season may reproduce during their first year, with some being sexually mature at 6 months.

Winter Habits

In winter, rabbits eat many of the same grasses they do in winter, but when these are covered with snow, they eat smaller twigs and the bark off larger branches. They will dig down through the snow to get frozen apples. For water, they eat snow in winter. In winter, they may eat their own scat.

Threats

Although rabbits are prolific, the vast number of predators keeps the population in check. Important predators include foxes, bobcats, owls, raccoons, hawks, snakes, and man. Diseases, and parasites also reduce rabbit populations. Rabbits are often infested with fleas, ticks, and mites, which also contribute to the spread of tularemia, a microorganism that can decimate populations.

Benefits

Problems and Solutions