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There are three subspecies of Sylvilagus nuttallii: S. nuttallii grangeri, S. nuttallii nuttallii, S. nuttallii pinetis. Another common name of this animal is Nuttall’s cottontail. (Chapman, 1999)
Perception Channels: tactile ; chemical
The mountain cottontail is common in its geographic range but has rapidly declined in western North Dakota. (Chapman, 1999)
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
They graze on grasses until the area is depleted, which can cause habitat change.
Their droppings serve as fertilizer and the rabbits are potentially food for endangered species of carnivorous birds, mammals, and snakes. Like other cottontails, the mountain cottontail is valued by humans for its beauty and grace.
Positive Impacts: food ; body parts are source of valuable material
This cottontail eats the grass on mountainsides and keeps the vegetation sparse.
Parasites include nematodes and cestodes.
The rabbit feeds near water, in the cover of brush, or in the open near brush cover. Heavy wind and rain can reduce the likelihood that the animal will eat in the open. (Chapman, 1975) (Verts & Gehman, 1991)
Mountain cottontail prefer grasses when they are available above other food sources, but when grasses are sparse major foods are sagebrush, Western Juniper and the juniper berries. (Enature, online)
Plant Foods: leaves; fruit
Primary Diet: herbivore (Folivore , Lignivore); coprophage
The mountain cottontail lives mostly in the western part of the United States. Its range is bordered in the east by Montana’s eastern border, in the west by the Sierra Nevada Mountains, in the south by the middle of New Mexico and Arizona, and in the north by the US/Canadian border; however a small area of Canada right above Montana and Washington is also included. (Chapman, 1975)
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native )
The cottontail inhabits brushy or wooded areas on slopes or riverbanks that are often covered with grasses, willows, and most importantly, sagebrush. If vegetation is sparse, as on a rocky mountainside, these rabbits can hide in burrows or rock crevices. (Chapman, 1975) (Sibr, online)
Habitat Regions: terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: forest ; scrub forest ; mountains
Range lifespan
Status: captivity: 7.4 (high) years.
The mountain cottontail is of medium to large size for its genus with long hind legs and a large tail that is dark on top and light below. The top of the body is covered in grayish brown fur, and the underbelly is white. The hind legs are covered with reddish brown hairs that are long and dense. The ears are rather short and rounded. They have black tips and long hairs on their inner surfaces. The animal's whiskers are usually white. The females have eight to ten mammae. In this species there is a single annual molt. The rabbits weigh between 0.7 kg and 1.2 kg and are between 35 cm and 39 cm in body length. Females are nearly five percent larger than males.
Skull characteristics of Sylvilagus nuttallii include a long rostrum, small supraorbital processes, and long and slender postorbital processes. The animal also has a rounded braincase, and a dental formula of 2/1, 0/0, 3/2, 3/3 with rather large molariform teeth.
(Chapman, 1975) (Chapman, 1999) (Enature, online) (Schneider, 1990)
Range mass: 0.7 to 1.2 kg.
Range length: 35 to 39 cm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
The only antipredation techniques reported are rapidly running to a safe sheltered area and restricting activity to dusk and dawn.
(Chapman, 1975) (Bull, 2000) (Sibr, online)
Mammalian predators include coyotes, bobcats, and martens. Other predators include hawks, eagles, owls, and rattlesnakes.
Known Predators:
These cottontails are normally solitary unless the habitat can support more than one animal. The animals mate between March and July and almost always at night. They do not form pair bonds. (Chapman, 1975) (Schneider, 1990) (Verts & Gehman, 1991)
Breeding season: March-July
Range number of offspring: 1 to 8.
Average number of offspring: 5.
Range gestation period: 28 to 30 days.
Range weaning age: 28 (high) days.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 90 (low) days.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 90 (low) days.
Key Reproductive Features: gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization (Internal ); viviparous
Average number of offspring: 3.6.
Before the female gives birth she makes a nest that is shaped like a cup and lines it with grass, fur, and sticks. The young are altricial with no hair, and they are blind. (Schneider, 1990) (Sibr, online)
Parental Investment: altricial
The mountain cottontail or Nuttall's cottontail (Sylvilagus nuttallii) is a species of mammal in the family Leporidae. It is found in Canada and the United States.
The mountain cottontail is a small rabbit but its size is relatively large for the genus. Hind legs are long; the feet are densely covered with long hair. Ears are relatively short and rounded at the tips; the inner surfaces are noticeably haired.[2] It has pale brown fur on the back, a distinct pale brown nape on the back of the head, black-tipped ears, a white-grey tail, and a white underside. The brown nape on the back of the head is a smaller size from than that of the Snowshoe Hare, helping to distinguish the two separate species from each other. Additionally, contrasting with the Snowshoe Hare’s long hops, the mountain cottontails take short distinctive leaps.[3]
This species is generally confined to the intermountain area of North America, especially the Western United States. It ranges from just above the Canada–US border south to Arizona and New Mexico, and from the foothills of the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains and west to the eastern slopes of the Cascade-Sierra Nevada.[2] It has a large east to west range from the state of South Dakota to California. Additionally, three subspecies exist under the S. nuttallii and they tend to remain separate in geographical terms.[4] Aside from geographical confinement, the mountain cottontail survives in a large range of elevations under 6000 feet[5] and the landscape in which it resides differs in legislation.[3]
Mountain cottontail diet is primarily made up of sagebrush and varies toward grasses during the spring and summer seasons.[6] It is made up in large part of grasses such as wheatgrasses, needle-and-thread, Indian ricegrass, cheatgrass brome, bluegrasses, and bottlebrush squirreltail.[7] Dependent on the area the diet may include quantities of shrubs such as Big sagebrush, rabbitbrush, and saltbushes. Juniper is also a common food source for the mountain cottontail.[6] As food sources becomes more limited in the winter months the diet may turn to more woody plant parts such as bark and twigs.
The nest of S. nuttallii is reported to be a cup-like cavity lined with fur and dried grass. The top of the nest is covered with fur, grass, and small sticks, probably placed there by the female. The average fetal sex ratio in Oregon was 1 male to 1.05 females; the adult sex ratio was 1 male to 1.18 females.[2] Depending on location, the breeding season will vary but ranges during the spring and summer seasons,[6] through February to July, and possibly later in warmer climates. The mountain cottontail is extremely reproductive and they reproduce around of 2-5 litters per year.[6] Mean litter sizes average 4–6 kits per litter.[2] In California and Nevada, the average litter size is around 6.1, 4.7 for rabbits in Washington and Oregon, and 2.0 for those in British Columbia.[8] The gestation period for this cottontail is 28–30 days, and the female may be bred during postpartum estrous.
Lagomorphs produce two types of fecal pellets, dry and moist. The dry ones are the typical rabbit poop you see around, while the moist ones are typically eaten by the animal (coprophagy or hindgut fermentation). These moist pellets contain large amounts of nutrients that were passed out of the body the first time, and if they are not re-ingested those nutrients will be lost. They are not a social species and spend the largest quantity of time performing non-social behavior, but congregations occur on popular feeding grounds. Majority of feeding occurs at dusk and dawn in clearings near cover or in brush. The Mountain Cotton tail is also known to climb juniper trees to feed or drink water. Over 50% of the time the Mountain cottontail is active, it is feeding. The most common social behavior seen is during reproductive actions or courting. Although these Lagomorphs are not territorial the males typically have a larger home range than females.[9]
The rabbits remain active all year. When spooked a rabbit will run a couple meters then hide and freeze with ears erect, if further pursued the rabbit will hop away in a semicircular path to try and trick the predator. The only behavior to reduce predation is limiting active time to dusk and dawn, and the semicircular path they hop when chased. Predators include coyotes, bobcats, lynxes, martens, crows, ravens, hawks, owls, and rattlesnakes.[10][11]
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Mountain cottontail in snow. The mountain cottontail or Nuttall's cottontail (Sylvilagus nuttallii) is a species of mammal in the family Leporidae. It is found in Canada and the United States.
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