New England Cottontail
Scientific Name: Sylvilagus transitionalis
The New England cottontail is a small, secretive rabbit native to the Northeaster United States. They look very similar to Eastern cottontails, but have key differences in behavior, genetics, and habitat preferences.
Their coats are dark brown with gray and black tipped guard hairs, giving it a grizzled appearance. They have a whiteish underbelly and the characteristic white “cotton” tail. They can be visually distinguished from the Eastern cottontail as they have shorter, rounder ears with black margins. They also have a subtle black spot on their forehead between their ears.
Due to habitat loss and competition, its population has significantly declined, making it a species of conservation priority.
Adult size: 15 to 17 in
Weight: 2 to 3 lbs
Life span: Short lived, usually no more than 3 years.
Maturity: < 1 year
Litter size: 3 to 8
Fun Fact
The females are larger than the males!
Diet
New England Cottontail are herbivorous, though their diet changes based on the season. In the spring and summer, they eat grasses and forbs, but in the fall and winter they transition to woody materials such as twigs. Like Eastern Cottontails, they also use employ coprophagy to increase the amount of nutrients absorbed from their food.
Habitat
New England Cottontails occupy woodlands, preferring higher elevations. They prefer early successional forests, shrubby thickets, young regenerating forests, and dense brush - especially near wetlands.
They use dense understory such as blueberry and mountain laurel to make their homes. They rarely venture out of cover and into open spaces to avoid predators. Like Eastern Cottontails, they make nests in depressions in the ground lined with fur and grass.
Behavior
New England Cottontails are solitary and only interact during mating. They are timid and conspicuous, and exhibit strong anti-predator behavior. They do not often stray more than 5 meters from cover. When threatened, they often freeze and remain motionless in hopes of avoiding detection. If flushed, they run in a zig-zag pattern to evade predators such as hawks, owls, foxes, coyotes, and domestic cats.
They have a small home range, typically between 1-8 acres, and are not highly mobile. Individuals rarely disperse far from their natal area - this makes fragmented habitats especially problematic for the species.
They have strong hearing and eyesight and make low purring and grunting sounds during breeding, and loud shrill screams if they are captured by a predator. They will thump their feet on the ground to communicate dangers to other rabbits. They are most active at dawn and dusk.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Male New England Cottontails form breeding groups are females in areas with abundant food and good habitat. They court the females with a running and jumping display. The breeding season spans from January to September, depending on the latitude. Their gestation lasts about 28 days. They can have multiple litters per year with an average of 5 young per litter.
Litter size also varies with latitude – the farther north that habitat, the larger the litter and the shorter the gestation period. This allows them to have as many young as then can during the warmer periods. The young are altricial, born naked with their eyes closed. The young are cared for until 2-3 weeks after birth. There is no investment made by the males to raise the young. The mother will mate almost immediately after her litter has left the nest. Many juveniles breed within their first season.
Population Status
Since the 1960’s there has been a rapid decline in their populations. This is most likely due to habitat loss, competition with Eastern Cottontails, and hybridization with Eastern Cottontails. They are considered “vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List. They are listed as a species of greatest conservation need, threatened, or endangered within every state in its current range. in New York they are considered a species of “special concern.”
Viewing
New England cottontails are notoriously difficult to spot and can often be confused with the Eastern cottontail. They best chance of seeing one is within its range on the Eastern edge of the state during their breeding season (March-September).
Range
New England Cottontails were historically widespread throughout New England and Eastern NY. They are now found in fragmented population in parts of Southern Maine, Southeastern new Hampshire, Eastern Massachusetts, Western Connecticut, and Eastern NY (including the Hudson Highlands and Taconic regions). Destruction of habitat has reduced their distribution to less than 15% of their historically occupied areas.
For more information on New England Cottontail in New York please visit the NYSDEC page here.
