![]() ![]() Moisture from cacti and other plants fills most of their water needs, but they readily drink water if it is available.īlack-tailed jackrabbits may travel up to several miles a night to find suitable food, returning to their home ranges each day. Resins or chemicals in some plants deter browsing by most animals, but in drought years even these will not stop rabbits. Behavior: Cottontails stay within about a 400 yard (366 m) home range, foraging on almost anything green.(Twigs browsed by deer look pinched off.) Twigs nipped off by jacks have clean, slanted cuts, while ends bitten by cottontails have a rougher, nibbled appearance. Diet: The rabbits and hares are herbivores, feeding on grasses, forbs, mesquite leaves and beans, and cacti (for moisture).Its range does not extend into southernmost Sonora. The black-tailed jack is also found in open, flat places, though not in habitats as dry as the antelope jack can tolerate. It prefers open places with sparse grasses where it can see predators and flee if need be. The antelope jackrabbit inhabits the drier areas of the desert, including creosote bush flats, mesquite grassland, andĬactus plains into and beyond southern Sonora. The desert cottontail is found throughout the Sonoran Desert, especially in thick, brushy habitat with plenty of hiding places. Its ears and the top of the tail are tipped in black. The brownish black-tailed jackrabbit is smaller than the antelope jack, at about 8 pounds (3.6 kg). The antelope jackrabbit is so named because it has a patch of white fur on its flanks that it can flash on one side or the other as it zigs and zags, running from a predator, much as the pronghorn antelope does. ![]() The large eyes are placed high and towards the back of its slightly flattened head, allowing it to see nearly 360 degrees as it watches for predators. This jackrabbit’s huge ears are edged in white. The antelope jackrabbit is one of the largest hares in North America, weighing 9 to 10 pounds (4.5 kg). It is the only cottontail in the Sonoran Desert. This grey rabbit with rufous nape and white tail weighs around 2 pounds (900 grams). ![]() Liebre (jackrabbit) Distinguishing FeaturesĪlthough the desert cottontail resembles most other cottontails, its ears are much larger. Spanish names: conejo (rabbit), conejito, conejo (cottontail), Cottontail babies (true rabbits) are born blind, naked, and helpless but jackrabbit young (like all young of true hares) are born furred and with their eyes open they can move around just a few hours after birth.īlack-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus) 9 kg) animals, while jacks are quite large, weighing up to 10 pounds (4.5 kg) and standing just under 2 feet (.6m) tall. Cottontails are small, 1 to 2 pound (.45 to. In the field, size is an easy way to tell cottontails apart from jackrabbits. Live in open areas with little cover they rely on exceptional speed and great leaping ability to evade predators, but they also suffer predative losses. These reinforcements make for a fairly constant supply of cottontails. Young stay at the nest for only about 2 weeks before venturing off. Female cottontails can breed at 3 months of age and have multiple litters in a year. They compensate for heavy losses by reproducing at a prodigious These rabbits have few defenses other than good eyesight, good hearing, and the ability to flee quickly. Preyed upon by everything from snakes to coyotes to owls, most cottontails are killed within their first year. Of all the desert-dwelling mammals, the desert cottontail is probably the one you will see most frequently. ![]()
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