Nuttall's Cottontail
From one to eight 30 gram leverets (babies) are born in 2-3 litters per year for these little rabbits. True rabbits, the leverets are born blind and hairless in an old badger or fox den. Within two weeks of birth, the family leaves the den and after one month the babies are fending for themselves.
The cottontail reaches maturity at 2 months and will weigh only 675-1000 grams and grow to 38 cm in length. It stays brownish grey all year long. Its tail is white.
Cottontails will eat nearly anything green in the summer and rely on the bark, buds and twigs of native shrubs in the winter.
Cottontails are almost always found near dense bush on the prairies. They prefer coulees, riverbanks, stands of buffalo berry or other thick brush. The cottontail uses concealment to evade predators but when surprised can run as fast as a fox for a short distance.
The scientific name for the Nuttall's Cottontail is Sylvilagus Nuttallii.
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