Cottontails

• There are some 17 species of cottontails in the Americas, ranging widely in size, habitat and distribution. One of the largest is the swamp rabbit, a denizen of southern bottomlands, which may weigh over five pounds; by contrast, the pygmy rabbit of the Intermountain West is usually under a pound. Most species exhibit the namesake white coloration on the underside of their tail.
  
  

Maternal Care

• Cottontails will rest in shallowly dug depressions called "forms." Female rabbits preparing to give birth will often dig a similar excavation, but one insulated by fibers of vegetation and by furs drawn from her belly. In Natural History of Oregon Coast Mammals (1981), the authors--Chris Maser, Bruce R. Mate, Jerry F. Franklin and C.T. Dyrness--describe the nest of a brush rabbit in Oregon, a cottontail species of the West Coast and Pacific Northwest. The female rabbit had selected a cranberry bog as the location, dug out a hole 15 centimeters wide and 10 centimeters deep and lined it with dry grass bits and a fur layer substantial enough to shield four offspring with a roof.
  
  Some species, like the immensely populous eastern cottontail, may not always create maternity dens; they sometimes rear young in existing shelters like woodchuck holes.
  
  

Protection

• The nest physically shelters the young cottontails from the elements and from predators, which for rabbits are numerous: from weasels and foxes to owls and hawks. To reinforce the concealment, the mother cottontail only visits the shelter occasionally: perhaps one or two times within a 24-hour period, and often only at night.
  
  

Development of Young

• By two weeks old, the young rabbits start to venture from the nest; after four weeks, they often take leave of their mothers, fully weaned and independent. Female cottontails may produce multiple litters in a single year.
  
  

Cottontail Nests & Humans

• Cottontail nests are often found around human development, including cast in grassy lawns. The Wisconsin Humane Society recommends marking the location of the nest on your property: let it alone--mow clear of it, for example--and the baby rabbits will be out of the nest within a few weeks. The society suggests gently placing twigs over a nest you suspect may have been abandoned. The next day, if these have been disturbed, the adult female is still tending her charges; if the twigs have not been touched, contact your local animal shelter to find out what to do with the orphaned babies.