Peter
Cottontail is hopping down the bunny trail with April’s Species of the Month.
The eastern cottontail rabbit is among the most common wildlife. I frequently
saw them in my grandparents’ back yard and was a little jealous that rabbits
didn’t come to my house. Although they almost never reach six feet tall at the
ears, they are closely related to the Easter Bunny (Lepus pascha). Rabbits in general are associated with Easter
because they symbolize abundant new life. For more on that topic, keep reading
to see just how abundant these little critters can be. Once again, this month’s
facts come from University of Michigan’s Animal Diversity Web.
Scientific
name: Sylvilagus floridanus
Kingdom:
Animalia (animals)
Class: Mammalia
(mammals)
Order: Lagomorpha
(rabbits, hares, pikas)
Range: Eastern
and central Canada south through eastern and central US, Central America, and
northwestern South America
Habitat: Interface
between wooded and open areas; meadows, orchards, farms, hedges, and second
growth forest areas
Lifespan:
3 years
Diet: Herbivorous.
Grasses primarily during spring/summer, with some clover and garden plants.
Winter diet consists mainly of woody plant parts. They must ingest feces to
reabsorb nutrients that were broken down during initial digestion but not
absorbed completely.
Predators:
hawks, owls, foxes, coyotes, weasels
Conservation
Status: No special protection
Other
Information: Rabbits really do multiply like rabbits. Females can have as many
as 7 litters of up to a dozen bunnies in a single year. The next litter is
usually born just after the last litter leaves the nest. Reproductive age is
2-3 months. A first-time mother could conceivably become a grandmother or great
grandmother the same year her first litter is born. Eastern cottontails molt
twice a year. A spring molt leaves a short summer coat of brown fur, while a
fall molt produces a thicker gray coat. Deer have the same seasonal coloration.
Babies are born hairless and blind, in contrast to hares, which are born hairy
(good way to remember the difference) and with open eyes. They receive little
care, weaning between 16 and 22 days old. The litter disperses at around 7
weeks old. Cottontails avoid predation by freezing or flushing, the zigzagging
leaps you’ve probably seen.
UM Animal
Diversity Web: http://animaldiversity.org/
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