New England Cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis)

Juvenile New England cottontail
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NEW ENGLAND COTTONTAIL FACTS

Description
The New England Cottontail is very similar to the Eastern Cottontail, and it is very difficult to tell them apart by looking at them. The fur is gray brown above with white underside and white tail. The New England Cottontail is vulnerable and conservation measures are being taken to protect it. Hunting has been restricted in some areas to protect the remaining population.

Size
Length: 40cm - 43cm. Weight: 0.9kg - 1.3kg

Environment
young forests with thick, tangled vegetation. Reduced extent of suitable thicket habitat is the main reason for the decline in numbers and range of New England cottontails.

Food
grasses, clover, herbaceous plants, and twigs when food is scarce

Breeding
A litter of 3 - 8 is born after gestation period of about 28 days. The young are naked and blind at birth and are weaned after about 16 days.

Range
areas of New England from southern Maine to southern New York

Conservation Status
The conservation status in the 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals is "vulnerable".

Classification

Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Lagomorpha
Family:	Leporidae
Genus:	Sylvilagus
Species:	transitionalis
Common Name:	New England Cottontail

Relatives in same Genus
  Swamp Rabbit (S. aquaticus)
  Desert Cottontail (S. audubonii)
  Brush Rabbit (S. bachmani)
  Eastern Cottontail (S. floridanus)
  Mountain Cottontail (S. nuttallii)
  Appalachian Cottontail (S. obscurus)
  Marsh Rabbit (S. palustris)

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