Desert Cottontail

Desert cottontails, also known as Audubon’s cottontail, are New World Cottontail rabbits from the Leporidae family. They are medium-sized cottontails who are very swift and agile with good swimming and climbing abilities. They are the only cottontails found in the Sonoran desert.

These rabbits do not form social burrow systems like other European rabbits. Compared to other leporids, they are more tolerant of other nearby individuals. As their name suggests, they live in the arid regions of Southwest America. They are named cottontails because their tails are white and fluffy and look like cotton balls.

Description

Length: 14 to 17 in (36 to 42 cm). Females are larger than males.

Weight: 1.5 to 2.6 lb (0.7 to 1.2 kg).

Tail: 1.2-2.4 in (3-6 cm)

Body and Coloration: Desert cottontails resemble European rabbits, but their ears are larger and more erect. The length of their ears is 2.4-3.5 in (6-9 cm), and their hind feet are 2.8-3.5 in (7-9 cm).

The fur of rabbit cottontails is greyish-brown in color. The undersides have a lighter shade. They also have an orange-brown throat patch. Their eyes are big, tails round and puffy, and ears wide with a little fur.

Range and Distribution

Desert cottontails are found near the arid regions of the Western United States. Their range is from eastern Montana to western Texas. They are also present in northern and central Mexico. In the east, their range extends up to the Great Plains; in the west, it touches the Pacific Ocean. Their home range size is within 8 acres.

Habitat

Desert cottontails live at an altitude of 6,000 feet (1830 m). They are called desert cottontails because they live in arid regions. These rabbits inhabit grasslands, woodlands, and less dry areas like pinyon-juniper forests and desert riparian zones. They often take shelter in heavy bushes, brambles, and holes to hide from predators.

Diet

Cottontail rabbits are herbivores and mostly eat grasses. Sometimes they also eat leaves and peas of mesquite, barks, twigs of shrubs, juicy pads of prickly pear, forbs, and cacti. Desert cottontails can also feed on fallen fruits, vegetables, and nuts if available. They rarely need to drink water as they get their moisture requirements from the plants they consume or from dew.

These species use their nose to move the plants and find the cleanest part of the vegetation to begin their meal. They use their front paws only when the foliage is above their head on a living plant.

Behavior

• Cottontail rabbits are active in the early morning and evening. The rest of the day, they stay undercover. 
• They run in a zigzag pattern at 15 miles per hour.
• Their athletic abilities are better than other species of rabbits, enabling them to swim and climb trees and brush piles easily.
• If frightened, they may freeze or run for cover. 
• These species use their tail to send warning signals, raising their tails and exposing a large white patch of fur on the bottom. This signal acts as an alarm for other cottontails.
• They avoid activity during hot daylight hours in summer to conserve moisture and energy. During the day, they rest in shades, burrows, or within thickets.
• When they eat, they cut clean slices through twigs or plants at a forty-five-degree angle with their ever-growing incisors.
• Cottontails are coprophagic, which means they eat their feces to extract nutrients as much as possible.
• They rarely come out of their burrows on windy days as wind interferes with their ability to hear approaching predators, their primary defense mechanism.

Lifespan

Desert cottontails grow fully within three months, but the lifespan of the ones who reach adulthood is less than two years. Their lifespan depends on their location. They have a lot of predators who eat newborns, and only a few of them are left to reach adulthood.

Adaptations

• Desert cottontails have large ears, which help them with thermoregulation. Their ears make up 14% of their body weight.
• They have light-colored fur to minimize the absorption of solar heat.
• To cope with evaporative heat loss, they pant and change their basal metabolic rate production. 
• If they spot a predator, they can freeze and scrunch to blend into their surroundings. 
• When predators attack these rabbits, they can knock them down by kicking them with their powerful hind legs.
• They have blood vessels just below the skin level that helps in radiating body heat into the air.

Mating and Reproduction

The mating period of desert cottontails starts in January and lasts till late summer. Their mating site is a shallow hole in the ground. The female digs the hole for herself and her partner and lines it with grass and fur.

They reproduce prodigiously, making up for their high predatory losses. The gestation period is one month, after which the mother can give birth to one to six babies. Usually, a female gives birth to 2-4 litters in a year, but a few can give birth to as many as six litters.

Their dramatic courtship consists of chases, charges, leaps over each other, and sprayed urine. The newborns are blind and hairless but grow quickly. Their eyes open after ten days. The mother builds a fur and grass-lined nest for her babies, where they stay for two to three weeks after birth. During this time, the mother takes care of the babies and feeds them once a day. After leaving the nest, they stay near it for another three weeks. They are ready for reproduction when they are three months old.

Predators

All the local carnivores of the region which the desert cottontails inhabit are their predators, the most dangerous of which are snakes. Other threats to these rabbits include bobcats, coyotes, birds of prey, mountain lions, Mexican wolves, snakes, squirrels, and even humans. Domestic cats and dogs also attack them.

When they spot a predator, they freeze to avoid being spotted or run away by hopping in a zigzag pattern at over 30 km/hr. When threatened, they jump upwards as high as two feet. They defend themselves from predators by nudging with their noses or slapping their front paws.

Conservation Status

Desert cottontails are labeled as ‘Least Concerned’ or ‘LC’ by IUCN, which means they are not under threat of becoming endangered very soon.

However, cottontails are considered a game species in the United States, with men hunting them for their fur and meat. Potential threats to their population are habitat loss due to land clearing and cattle grazing, fires set by humans, and competition with black-tailed jackrabbits, as the two share the same habitat and diet.

Interesting Facts

• The meat of cottontails can be a good feast for humans. Some delicious items can be cooked with its meat.
• Desert cottontails are not suitable pets because they are restless and easily stressed. 
• These species seldom build their own nest. Most of the time, they rest in the burrows of other animals.