Appalachian cottontails are small rabbits that are well adapted to colder climates. They have a light-yellow brown fur, mixed with black on the dorsal side and there is a mix of brown/red patch on the neck. The ventral side is mostly white. Their tails are short and fluffy, being darker on the top and white below. Females in this species are typically larger than males.
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CrepuscularCrepuscular animals are those that are active primarily during twilight (that is, the periods of dawn and dusk). This is distinguished from diurnal...
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NocturnalNocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal",...
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HerbivoreA herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die...
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FolivoreIn zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less ...
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FrugivoreA frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts, and seeds. Approx...
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CoprophageCoprophage animals are those that consume feces. Domesticated and wild mammals are sometimes coprophagic, and in some species, this forms an essent...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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JumpingJumping (saltation) can be distinguished from running, galloping, and other gaits where the entire body is temporarily airborne by the relatively l...
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AltricialAltricial animals are those species whose newly hatched or born young are relatively immobile. They lack hair or down, are not able to obtain food ...
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GrazingGrazing is a method of feeding in which a herbivore feeds on plants such as grasses, or other multicellular organisms such as algae. In agriculture...
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TorporTorpor is a state of decreased physiological activity in an animal, usually marked by a reduced body temperature and metabolic rate. Torpor enables...
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ZoochoryZoochory animals are those that can disperse plant seeds in several ways. Seeds can be transported on the outside of vertebrate animals (mostly mam...
Among animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct ...
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Dominance hierarchyA dominance hierarchy (formerly and colloquially called a pecking order) is a type of social hierarchy that arises when members of animal social gr...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
Hibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic depression undergone by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy charac...
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Appalachian cottontails are found in the eastern United States ranging from Pennsylvania to South Carolina and being most prominent in the Appalachian Mountains. They inhabit mostly mountainous regions, coniferous and mixed oak forests. They also live in areas with dense vegetation such as blueberry, mountain laurel, blackberry vines and cane.
Appalachian cottontails are solitary creatures. They are active around dusk or at dawn. During the day they typically avoid predators by sheltering under logs or in burrows. These rabbits don't hibernate being active year-round. It is believed that there is a social hierarchy within the species especially when it comes to mating, in which the males assert their dominance by fighting to gain mating priority. Appalachian cottontails have acute senses of smell, hearing, and sight. This allows them to notice predators and react quickly to threats. Mothers may perform a grunting sound in order to alert her babies to the presence of predators. Their senses are also used to find potential mates.
Appalachian cottontails are herbivores. Their diet consists of leaves, blackberry, greenbriar, mountain laurel; bark and twigs of trees such as red maple, aspen, and black cherry. Appalachian cottontails may also eat their own feces, as it is useful for rabbits to take up certain vitamins and nutrients that weren’t digested well in the first pass of digestion.
Little is known about the mating system in Appalachian cottontails. The breeding season for these animals occurs between February and October. Adult females can breed up to 3-4 times per season and have roughly 3-4 babies per litter. Before giving birth, the female will begin to dig a nesting depression. She then pulls out her fur from her underbelly and gathers berries and leaves in order to provide a lining for the nest. The gestation period lasts around 28 days. After birth, little babies will live in the nest with vegetation until they are independent for about 3-4 weeks. The mother will care for her young and visit the nest twice a day to nurse her offspring. Appalachian cottontails reach reproductive maturity after 1-2 months of age.
Main threats to Appalachian cottontails are the destruction and maturation of habitat, as well as habitat fragmentation due to urban development. Once fragmentation has occurred the lack of cover exposes the cottontail to predators, increasing the strain on the species. Hunting is a common reason for deaths of many Appalachian cottontails but is mostly due to lack of knowledge by the hunter. The lack of education on existence, biology, and habitat requirements of these animals also contribute to them being threatened.
The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the Appalachian cottontail total population size. Currently, this species is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are decreasing.
Appalachian cottontails serve as prey for owls, hawks, dogs, foxes, and humans. They consume fruits in their diet and thus act as seed dispersers.
