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Desert Cottontail - Sylvilagus audubonii

 

Classification

 Kingdom: Animalia
 Phylum: Chordata
 Class: Mammalia
 Order: Lagomorpha
 Family: Leporidae
 Genus: Sylvilagus
ICUN Redlist - World Status: Least ConcernLeast Concern

Description

Desert CottontailThe desert cottontail has brown-gray fur above and lighter fur on its undersides. It has big eyes; a puffy, round tail; and long, wide ears with a little fur in them. The female desert cottontail is usually a little larger than the male.

Range

mapThe desert cottontail is found in the southwest from California east to Texas and from northern  Montana south to Mexico.





Habitat

The desert cottontail is found in woodlands, grasslands, creosote brush, and desert areas.

 

Diet

The desert cottontail eats grasses, cacti, bark, twigs, and mesquite.

Reproduction

 

Desert CottontailMating season runs from January to late summer. The female makes a nest by digging a shallow hole in the ground and lining it with fur and grass. A month after mating, she gives birth to 1-6 babies. The babies are born naked and with their eyes closed. They leave the nest when they are two weeks old. They stay with their mother for another three weeks. They are ready to mate when they are about three months old. Females usually have 2-4 litters a year. Some females may have as many as six litters a year.

Behavior

Desert CottontailThe desert cottontail is most active in the early morning and in the evening. It spends the hottest part of the day under cover. Sometimes the desert cottontail climbs sloping trees and tree stumps to sit and keep watch for predators and other dangers.

Desert CottontailThe desert cottontail does not build its own den, although it may scratch a depression under a bush or other vegetation. Sometimes it rests in the burrow of another animal. The desert cottontail can also swim, and it runs at speeds of up to 15 mph.