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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.


Description

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.Chapman, Joseph A., 1975, ''Sylvilagus nuttallii'', Mammalian Species No. 56, The American Society of Mammalogists 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.


Range

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 The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
and west to the eastern slopes of the
Cascade Cascade, Cascades or Cascading may refer to: Science and technology Science *Cascade waterfalls, or series of waterfalls * Cascade, the CRISPR-associated complex for antiviral defense (a protein complex) * Cascade (grape), a type of fruit * Bioc ...
-
Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...
. 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. Aside from geographical confinement, the mountain cottontail survives in a large range of elevations under 6000 feet and the landscape in which it resides differs in legislation.


Diet

Mountain cottontail diet is primarily made up of sagebrush and varies toward grasses during the spring and summer seasons. It is made up in large part of
grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and ...
es such as
wheatgrass Wheatgrass is the freshly sprouted first leaves of the common wheat plant (''Triticum aestivum''), used as a food, drink, or dietary supplement. Wheatgrass is served freeze dried or fresh, and so it differs from wheat malt, which is convect ...
es, needle-and-thread, Indian ricegrass, cheatgrass brome, bluegrasses, and bottlebrush squirreltail. Dependent on the area the diet may include quantities of shrubs such as
Big sagebrush ''Artemisia tridentata'', commonly called big sagebrush,MacKay, Pam (2013), ''Mojave Desert Wildflowers'', 2nd ed., , p. 264. Great Basin sagebrush or (locally) simply sagebrush, is an aromatic shrub from the family Asteraceae, which grows in ari ...
,
rabbitbrush Rabbitbrush is a common name for shrubs, principally of the western United States, in three related genera of the family Asteraceae: * ''Chrysothamnus'' — about seven species in the United States, including Greene's rabbitbrush * ''Ericameri ...
, and saltbushes. Juniper is also a common food source for the mountain cottontail. As food sources becomes more limited in the winter months the diet may turn to more woody plant parts such as
bark Bark may refer to: * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Places * Bark, Germany * Bark, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland Arts, e ...
and twigs.


Reproduction

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. Depending on location, the breeding season will vary but ranges during the spring and summer seasons, 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. Mean litter sizes average 4–6 kits per litter. 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. The gestation period for this cottontail is 28–30 days, and the female may be bred during postpartum estrous.


Behavior

Lagomorphs produce two types of fecal pellets, dry and moist. The dry ones are the typical rabbit poop you see around while the moist one are typically eaten by the animal (coprophagy or handout fermentation). These moist pellets contain large amounts of nutrients that were passed out of the body the first time, 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 clearing near cover or in brush. The Mountain Cotton tail is also known to climb juniper trees to feed. 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. 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 The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological nich ...
,
bobcats The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the I ...
, lynxes, martens, crows, ravens, hawks, owls, and
rattlesnake Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes that form the genera ''Crotalus'' and ''Sistrurus'' of the subfamily Crotalinae (the pit vipers). All rattlesnakes are vipers. Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting small anima ...
s.Verts, B.J. and Steven D. Gehman, Activity and Behavior of Free-Living ''Sylvilagus nuttallii'', Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. Nash Hall, Oregon State University Corvallis, Oregon 97331


References


External links

* {{Authority control Sylvilagus Mammals of the United States Mammals of Canada Fauna of the Western United States Fauna of the Great Basin Fauna of the Rocky Mountains Least concern biota of the United States Mammals described in 1837 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by John Bachman