Here comes Peter Cottontail ...

By adamg on Sun, 05/15/2011 - 11:55am

Mike Ball is astonished to read in the New York Times that "the increasingly rare New England cottontail rabbit" can only be glimpsed in tangled thickets. Astonished because a family of cottontails are regular visitors to his front yard in Hyde Park's Fairmount Hill:

A family of them has an odd attraction to our newspapers. When I got out a 5:30 or 6 a.m., I sometimes see one or two or three of them nosing about our papers. So far, they haven't opened the plastic bags or shown us their favorite sections. I assume the oddity of two or three of the parcels tossed at the base of the sidewalk that attracts them. Perhaps they wonder if there is food involved.

Regardless, when I trot the 50 or so feet, they do notice me and hop slowly out of reach. They aren't in any hurry though.

Well ...

Our resident wildlife expert, Jef Taylor, explains:

Boston bunnies are almost all Eastern Cottontails. NE cottontails are different species, found out in the sticks.

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Comments

Lots here in Westie...

By anon on Sun, 05/15/2011 - 12:13pm.

.. they're a common sight. Particularly in the evening. Cats seem to be on a mission to rid the neighborhood of them - and the cats have had "victories". My dog is apparently pro-rabbits as he doesn't try to chase them but does try for the cats - to no avail due to the leash.

If a campaign starts for a leash law for cats, I would suspect the rabbits of being behind it.

Sure for experts

By massmarrier on Sun, 05/15/2011 - 2:01pm.

I can appreciate the distinction. My in-print experts - wildlife guides - say the N.E. version stays brown all year. Ours do.

They're both always brown

By Lagomorph on Sun, 05/15/2011 - 5:18pm.

Both the endangered native New England Cottontail and the common introduced Eastern Cottontail are brown all year, so that's not a distiguishing trait.

Slaking their thirst with the

By anon on Sun, 05/15/2011 - 4:51pm.

Slaking their thirst with the condensation on the bag would be my guess.
A warm plastic bag thrown out into the dewy morn would get quite a bit of condensation on it.

Distinguishing traits?

By anon on Mon, 05/16/2011 - 7:46am.

What are the distinguishing traits of the endangered bunny?

Getting Gray

By massmarrier on Mon, 05/16/2011 - 12:56pm.

I'm 87.38% sure those from our woods are N.E. cottontails. A big differentiator is that the Eastern cottontails look more gray than brown in winter, while the N.E. ones stay a consistent and obvious brown. Alas, as well as seeing them whole, we sometimes find shards of their pelts in winter, pieces that are brown and likely left after a successful hunt by the area coyotes.

Our abutting woods have the overgrown thickets and marshy areas they need, plus the large acreage they favor.

I just discovered a nice little site with pix, facts and lore — http://bit.ly/lSUNiq

Assording to Mass Div. of Fisheries & Wildlife...

By anon on Mon, 05/23/2011 - 3:56pm.

You can't tell these rabbits apart by looking at them in the field. The differences can be determined with certainty only by skull characteristics and measurements and by DNA techniques. Generally speaking, however, New England cottontails have a slightly shorter ears (avg. 57mm) and smaller bodies (avg. 958 g) than Eastern cottontails (avg. 61mm and 1136 g). New England cottontails have a black spot between the ears about 90% of the time (40% in Eastern). They lack a white spot on the forehead (Easterns have a spot 43% of the time). New England Cottontails typically (95%) have a black line on the front edge of the ear (Easterns 40%).