cottontail rabbit
Posted by bob smith on August 4, 2005
Q: how do you know if a cottontail rabbit has a litter of babies and where would a nest location be of baby cottontails?and would cottontail rabbits breed in early august?
Habitat: suburban/yard
State: New Jersey
Habitat: suburban/yard
A: Finding a nest of baby cottontails is extremely difficult although a dog is pretty good at finding them. The Eastern Cottontail often has a nest in tall grasses located in a border area such as the edge of a field or edge of the woods. These rabbits are also quite common in suburban areas so even a "weedy" area of your yard is a possible location for a nest. Female cottontails don't spend a lot of time with their young but "linger" in the nest area and only approach the nest to nurse.
The Eastern Cottontail has from 3 to 5 young in 3 to 7 litters a year so yes,they are likely to be breeding in August! Sounds like an awful lot of babies but the survival rate is not very high. Thanks for asking.
John Wiessinger ( August 4, 2005)