Rabbit
Rabbits are members of the Leporidae.
The eastern cottontail is the most common rabbit occurring throughout the entire CSRA. It has dense brown to gray fur on its back with a white underside and white or cotton tail. There is usually a white spot on its forehead, the nape of the neck is rusty in color, and the feet are whitish. From head to tail adults measure 14-17 inches and weigh 2-4 pounds.
Rabbits are members of the Leporidae.
The eastern cottontail is the most common rabbit occurring throughout the entire CSRA. It has dense brown to gray fur on its back with a white underside and white or cotton tail. There is usually a white spot on its forehead, the nape of the neck is rusty in color, and the feet are whitish. From head to tail adults measure 14-17 inches and weigh 2-4 pounds.
The eastern
cottontail is active mostly from dusk till dawn. Their annual home ranges
cover 4-13 acres. Research has shown that cottontails use a variety of
habitat types ranging from crop fields, old fields, and pastures to briar and
shrub thickets. Brush and briar thickets provide important cover from
predators and mortality rates are greater when rabbits venture into open areas
with sparse ground cover.
Cottontails use a variety of habitats, but prefer early succession habitats (i.e., a mix of grasses, briars, and shrubs). Early succession habitat can be created or maintained by combinations of periodic ground disturbances that maintain ground vegetation in a 1-5 year old growth stage. Cottontails feed on a great variety of vegetation.
The tracks are always of a nonregistering type. The rabbit never really runs, but actually makes a continual series of leaps. Tracks are often rather blurred due to the hair covering the entire foot.
Rabbits do not make a den but rather makes a nest of grass and fur in a shallow depression on the ground.
Cottontails use a variety of habitats, but prefer early succession habitats (i.e., a mix of grasses, briars, and shrubs). Early succession habitat can be created or maintained by combinations of periodic ground disturbances that maintain ground vegetation in a 1-5 year old growth stage. Cottontails feed on a great variety of vegetation.
The tracks are always of a nonregistering type. The rabbit never really runs, but actually makes a continual series of leaps. Tracks are often rather blurred due to the hair covering the entire foot.
Rabbits do not make a den but rather makes a nest of grass and fur in a shallow depression on the ground.
