2. Snowshoe hare
3. White-tailed jackrabbit (a misnomer, as my dad pointed out: it is not a rabbit, but a hare)
4. Mountain or Nuttall's cottontail
5. Eastern cottontail
According to Cottage life, there are five rabbit and hare species in the wilds of Canada.
I grew up with the white-tailed jackrabbit, and probably both cottontails in Saskatchewan. I don't remember them being in the city until I moved away from Regina, but when I visit, I have often seen the odd image of jackrabbits on pavement. There are probably still cottontails (deceptively named Mountain cottontail or Eastern cottontails both live there), but I only see them visiting the prairies in the wild. I suspect that they are likely surviving as anthromorphs also, but I haven't got confirmation on that. The Mountain cottontails have distinct black lines on their ear tips and face, with a white grey puffy tail to warrant its name.
There are artic hares and snowshoe hares, but I have only seen those in zoos, presumably injured or orphaned, or maybe, less happily, but legally bred.
The Eastern cottontail is the one living in my back yard here in the suburbs of Montreal.
My unicorn Glitter has been tasked to researching a rabbit, so here goes:
scientific name (thanks wikipedia!) Sylvilagus floridanus
genus Sylvilagus
family Leporidae
5 - 10 fun facts
1. Eastern cottontails are from the New World, and now can be found from the Island of Vancouver (so, Western Canada) down through North America to Central America and as far as northern South America and several Caribbean Islands.
2. Despite a low annual adult survival rate of 20% (it is prey after all!), it is an animal of least concern for extinction.
3. Martin and Adle found a nest in their lawn that looked like a massive furball. They mowed around it for weeks, until the babies were able to go off on their own, at about 7 weeks old. Each day the young were left, but the mother came back to the nest every day.
4. Pygmy rabbits are its closest relative.
5. Peter Cottontail was written by a Massachusetts author, where Eastern and New England cottontails abound.
6. A cottontail's average lifespan is 18 months.
ecosystem pyramid it is part of
cats/dogs/foxes/coyote/bobcat/weasels/raccoon/mink/great horned owl/barred owl/ hawks/corvids/snakes
eastern cottontail
trees/seeds/flowers/fruits/bluegrass/clover/ragweed/dandelion
what it eats
anything your garden with grow, but except for a few accidental arthropods, they are vegetarian
its range
They live in the same home range their entire lifetime, and it is roughly circular. It can shift in response to weather and vegetation.
what type of habitat is its home? (photo)
They like underground burrows, but inhabit those built by others, like groundhogs.
photo of creature
is it a land, water or air creature?
land
its cousin
the hare
its prehistoric ancestors
https://www.livescience.com/2381-fossil-oldest-rabbit-relative.html
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