There are a few species within the cottontail rabbit family in America, but the eastern cottontail is the most abundant and widespread. Look for pellets at your local pet store. If found, they can run extremely fast, often restorting to a zig-zag pattern to shake their pursuer. The upperparts vary from reddish to grayish brown sprinkled with black; when fluffed, the fur of the rump is grayish. Edge habitat, that is, where thickets, hedgerows, or treed areas meet old fields, agricultural lands, or grassy meadows. In appearance, most cottontail rabbits closely resemble the wild European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Yes, it is necessary to provide food to her because the wild rabbits don’t get available food like the pet rabbit, especially in the winter. The Cottontail Rabbit Sylvilagus floridanus thrives in the arid, dry western desert habitat, and its drab. In our home and native land, the relatively small rabbits prefer open woodlands, meadows, and shrubby areas of southern Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario… Range and Habitat of the Eastern Cottontail Rabbit. Along with their smaller cousin the cottontail rabbit and the larger European hare, they make-up the three rabbit/hare varieties found in Ontario. Most Sylvilagus species have stub tails with white undersides that show when they retreat, giving them their name: "cottontails". Cottontails are NOT the same genetically as our domestic house bunnies. An adult female averages three litters per year, which can occur in any season; occurrence, and litter size depend on several factors including time of the year, weather, and location. Brushpile is a safe haven for small animals. I snapped a pic and that was that. It looked at us, we looked at it. The female may produce 3 to 5 litters a year with an average of 5 young per litter, but many newborns do not survive. The marsh rabbit can swim well and is found only where water is present, like the marshes and swamps off the coasts in the Eastern and Southern regions of America. Their tracks are numerous at the FWG and the Arboretum, and not only along their runs. Some populations also exist in the Pacific Northwest. At the FWG I have not found any such nests, but then I rarely look for them, not wishing to disrupt the animals. ), various clovers (Trifolium sp. Eastern Cottontail Rabbits are a species that have adapted very well to city living and cultivated landscapes. True to their reputation, cottontails have a high reproductive rate, with some females raising up to seven litters per year. Their dense coat, or pelage, is a greyish-brown with black-tipped guard hairs. Brushpiles of varying sizes dot the area (see photo at left). It was an unnerving sound. Call if selling bulk rabbits, etc. This feature is not present in some cottontails, nor is it unique to the genus. Banfield (1974) says this varies from 0.5 to 9 hectares, but notes that “recent studies have indicated a larger home range, dependent to some extent on terrain and food supply, but in the neighbourhood of 8 acres [3.24 hectares].” At the FWG, our 5-hectare site could support 5 to 10 rabbits. Many people who find baby rabbits outside, do not see the mom and automatically assume that they have been abandoned. Dobbyn (1994), however, says it was not reported in the southern part of the province until 1860, and prior to 1931 was unknown in Ottawa. If you look closely, you can see the characteristic rusty patch on their nape. The list of cottontail predators is long. I have seen some paths so well-trod they look like major rabbit highways. At the FWG, their lower numbers in 2006-2007 are probably a result of predation (mostly by dogs and coyotes) and their population cycle being on a downturn. New England, specifically from southern Maine to southern New York. They are more distantly related to the European and other rabbits, and more distantly still to the hares. Cottontail Rabbit. Sections of this page. Rabbits inhabit a relatively small home range. Another time, I saw tracks heading across a field at the Central Experimental Farm (CEF) followed by a set of very clear fox prints! Its large tail is three to five centimetres long. The virus is already affecting species in northern Mexico, a center of lagomorph diversity that is home to rare and endangered species such as the volcano rabbit and the Davis Mountains cottontail. Thickets of shrubs and stands of raspberry (Rubus) are common, and the Old Woodlot, New Woods, and birch grove provide an open wooded setting abutting field and thicket. It was six times the size of the four-pound cottontails of today, had smaller eyes and ears, dug for its food and didn’t hop. Rabbits are generally creatures of habit, sticking fairly close to their familiar surroundings, unless forced to move. They are notoriously prolific and if they lived in an ideal world with no predators, they would soon overpopulate. Best bet is to put up a few fliers around a farm market. This way you'll either get a call from the police warning that something's not right, and you'll escape with a warning, or get a call from a rabbit supplier. It looks like a typical cottontail rabbit, with short, upright ears and brown mottled fur. Without the ability to breed rapidly and often, they would have little chance of thriving as a species. Keep in mind that pellets tend to be very nutrient dense—you do not need to feed them in large quantities. Cold weather, however, often prompts daytime activity. Raptors such as Red-tailed Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) and Great-horned Owls (Bubo virginianus) prey on both adults and young. In fact, their fecundity is a response to their high mortality. Eastern cottontail can be distinguished from the other common lagomorph of eastern Ontario, the snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus), by its smaller size, colouration (it does not turn white in winter as hares do), and physical features (for example, shorter ears). A North American Cottontail rabbit spotted in Waterloo, Ontario. On sunny days, rabbits may seek the sun’s warmth where it penetrates sheltered spots. When I returned, it was still there. The average litter size is four but can range from as few as two to as many as eight, most of whom do not go on to survive to adulthood. Their occurrence is distributed across America, from the dry and desert regions of Arizona, Texas and New Mexico to the Hudson River area and New England. Eastern cottontails are beautiful little animals and the young are, dare I say, absolutely adorable. Prompts daytime activity nutrient dense—you do not need to feed them in large quantities put up a few fliers a! 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