If there were a beauty contest for backyard wildlife, the eastern cottontail would win, by a tail. The small rabbits endear themselves to backyard naturalists with their long ears, saucer-sized brown eyes and cute little white cotton puff tail.
While many view the rabbit as a pest, I admire its adaptability. The eastern cottontail is ubiquitous adjusting to North Texas’ changing landscape and creating habitat for itself in amongst suburban subdivisions. An herbivore, the rabbit dines on lawns and makes its home in shrubs. An opportunistic vegetarian, the eastern cottontail will gladly switch from its native diet of grasses to rose leaves and other garden plants when available.
These small mammals weigh just two to four pounds. They are crepuscular, meaning they’re active during dawn and dusk, and rest during the day. Eastern cottontails may inhabit a deserted burrow, or make a home in shrubs or dense ground cover. Our backyard cottontail lives under a shed.
Eastern cottontail rabbits differ from their cousin the hare in appearance and how their young are born. Rabbits are born blind and hairless; completely helpless at birth. In contrast, hares are born with fur and able to see. The new kit (baby rabbit) will quickly grow its fur and open its eyes, leaving the nest within about two weeks. Kits mature to full grown adults within four or five months.
In the wild, rabbits live just a little over a year with bobcat, fox, coyote, owls and hawks as predators. Life is tough for the Eastern cottontail, even in suburbia. Backyard cottontails have to contend with predatory dogs and cats, but most are killed by cars. Still, the rabbits thrive birthing several litters of kits each season.
Cottontails have great eyesight and hearing. If they sense danger, the rabbit will freeze in place or dash for cover. Backyard naturalists likely have seen both behaviors. Cottontails can jump up to 15 feet and often will flee in a zigzag pattern – done to throw a predator off its scent.
Backyard Tidbits
· Eastern cottontails are not social animals and prefer to live singularly.
· The female cottontail is larger than the male.
· Cottontails rarely drink water, getting most of their water from the plants they eat.
· In winter, if green plants are not available, the cottontail will eat twigs and bark.
· Cottontails will sometimes eat their own droppings to get all the nutrients from the food they ate.
Resources Texas Parks and Wildlife Department – Rabbits and Hares at www.tpwd.state.tx.us
Fairfax County Public Schools – Eastern Cottontail at www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology
BioKids – Eastern Cottontail at www.biokids.umich.edu
National Wildlife Federation – Bunny Boom and Bust at www.nwf.org