Desert Cottontail

Desert cottontails are 36-42 cm long (14-17 inches). They weigh approximately 1.5-2.6 pounds. Their tails is 30 to 60 mm (1.2 to 2.4 inches). Their ears are 6 to 9 cm (2.4 to 3.5 inches). They have large feet, about 7 to 9 cm (2.8 to 3.5 in) long. Females are usually bigger than males. An adult dessert cottontail is often tan to grey colors with a bit of yellow. They often have a orange neck. They have tails that look like cotton balls and are darker higher up and white further down.

Desert cottontails can have babies year round depending on where they are. Some only have eight months of the year. The average litter is 2-6 babies. A female desert cottontail can have 20-30 babies in 4 or 5 litters. Desert cottontail babies are weaned in 2 weeks.

Desert cottontails predators are golden and bald eagles, great horned owls, hawks, badgers, coyotes, foxes, bobcats and humans. Rattlesnakes may eat their babies.

 

 

Information from, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_cottontail and

https://www.desertusa.com/animals/desert-cottontail.html

Brush Rabbit

Certain subspecies of the brush rabbit are considered endangered and are protected by state and federal laws. The brush rabbit lives in oak and conifer forests, and will sometimes live in grassland. Brush rabbits do not dig their own burrows, instead they live in other animals burrows that they dug. And brush rabbits rarely leave the brush and forests that they live in.

Brush rabbits a smaller than most cottontails and their belly’s are grey rather than white. Brush rabbits back fur is light brown to grey. Adults are 10-14 inches and are rarely barely over 2 pounds.

Brush rabbits like other rabbits are breeding year round but the peeks in the breeding season are Between February and August. Female brush rabbits are pregnant for about 22 days and can have a most of five litters per year but usually have two or three litters per year. One to seven bunnies per litter and an average of three per litter.

Brush rabbits eat grass, clovers and berries.

The predators of brush rabbits are, cougars, foxes, raptors, coyotes, bobcats, weasels and snakes.

Brush rabbits aren’t hunted like a lot of other cottontails, probably because of how small they are.