Silly Rabbit

I took this photograph of a small cottontail rabbit earlier this year. It's actually an Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus), one of the most common rabbit species in North America.

We have ideal habitat for them and we see them frequently. They like open, grassy areas with shrubs along the edges for cover. This one was near our house, inside the fence and that is normally deadly territory for them, but our dogs were inside at the time.

They have a two-stage defensive strategy. First, they will freeze, which is what this one has done. Then if you approach closer, they will run away in a zig-zag pattern. They are quite fast and you never get really close.

They are mostly vegetarian although they sometimes eat insects. In turn, they are predated by coyotes, racoons, hawks, and owls.

There is another species of rabbit which we see on our property too, the black-tailed jackrabbit. They are larger, have longer ears with a black trim and have a long rear legs.