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Habitat Requirements | |
| Distribution Reproduction Habitat Threats Management Literature Cited |
Eastern Cottontails have an
incredible ability to survive amidst civilization. Their habitat requirements are so
minimal that they can easily be suburbanized or continue to live in the wild. Gardens and
birdfeeders have helped to suburbanize the species (Burger, 1973 pg181). All habitat components are found on the animal’s “home range”. The female cottontail’s home range is approximately 15 acres whereas the male may use closer to 100 acres (Nebraska Website). Cottontails on sandy soils require a larger winter range than those on more fertile soils due to the relationship between fertile soil and high quality plant food (Bolen, 1995 pg93). Cottontails prefer brush habitat regardless of farming intensity. Shelterbelts are also prime habitats for cottontails; they offer edge and shubbery preferable to the cottontail’s lifestyle. The cottontail is a herbivore. During the spring and summer, they consume grasses, sprouts and nearly any other fresh greenery. Winter brings corn and waste grain (if available) and bark and twigs of shrubs and trees. Throughout the year, they prefer fresh, new growth. Sumac and apples are also favored in the diet (Burger, 1973 pgs48-49). Cottontails also engage is caprophagy for vitamin B12. Above ground structures called “forms” and underground structures frequently referred to as scratches, are homes for the cottontails (Nebraska Website). The cottontail starts its life in the ground nest, or scratch. The nest is a pit about 4 to 5 inches deep that is scratched out in the green cover by the female. She lines the scratch with grasses, moss and other similar plants and then pads the scratch with fur that she pulls from her own body, The nest is then covered with a lid of grass and leaves and is flush with the ground and camouflaged (Burger, 1973 pg48). Once the litter is born, the female will stay in the “form” and will only visit the nest and dawn and dusk (Nebraska Website). |