Cottontail Rabbit
Sylvilagus floridanus
by Sophie H.M.
Habitat
Cottontail rabbits are most commonly found in North America and parts of Central and South America. They live in fields, prairies, marshes, and swamps or anywhere they can find bushes or tall grass where they can hide from predators.
Description
Most species of the cottontail have fluffy white fur on the underside of their tails, giving them the name cottontail. Their fur can be light brown to a darker gray.
Size and weight
Cottontails are 15 to 18 inches long and weigh between two to three pounds.
Movement
Cottontails usually hop.
Lifespan
Cottontails live up to three years in the wild and can live at eight years in captivity.
Diet
Cottontails eat mostly grasses, but they also eat strawberries, clover, plantain, and garden vegetables. In winter twigs,bark and roots.
Offspring
Cottontails can have up to six litters per year. They usually have 12-14 babies per litter but only 5 or 6 babies survive.
Predators
Cottontails have many predators including foxes, weasels, eagles, and hawks.
FUN FACTS
Cottontail rabbits are almost completely mute; the communicate by thumping their feet.
Cottontails can leap 10 feet (13 meters)in a single bound and can hop up to 18 miles (29 kilometers) an hour.
It is estimated that cottontails can produce 305,000 descendants in five years.
SOURCES
http://animals.pawnation.com/cottontail-rabbits-1901.html
http://www.esf.edu/aec/adks/mammals/cottontail.htm
http://icwdm.org/handbook/mammals/CottontailRabbits.asp by Scott R. Craven
http://www.psu.edu/dept/nkbiology/naturetrail/speciespages/cottontail.htm by Edward Lee
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/cottontail-rabbit/
World Book Q,R 16 Encyclopedia
Cottontails and Their Relatives by Paul A. kabasa
https://www.flickr.com/photos/texese/106442137
https://prezi.com/nnm88aqoyb3f/eastern-cottontail-rabbit/