Down the Rabbit Hole

Blog Category
Discover Nature Notes
Published Display Date
May 18, 2015
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Spring has burst out all over—not only in plants, but in an explosion of baby animals. You don’t have to venture far to observe this activity, much of it takes place in your own backyard.

Rabbits find suitable living sites in urban yards, provided there are bushes or weedy areas close by for safety. Adult rabbits seek refuge in small shallow depressions called “forms,” but the female digs a deeper burrow for her young. The female only visits the nest to nurse the young in the early morning and at dusk, so she is rarely seen. Her presence at the nest could attract attention, so she keeps watch from a distance. Young rabbits mature within two weeks and leave the safety of the nest.

Sometimes people come across the nests of young rabbits. Many people mistakenly think the small, helpless-looking, rabbits are orphaned.

Young rabbits face many dangers, including neighborhood cats and dogs. In fact, more than 40 percent of these youngsters don’t live beyond their first month. Rabbits can recover this loss, however, because each female can produce as many as 35 young a year!

Just how much pressure young rabbits can tolerate may surprise you. Successful nests can be found where there is little cover or a lot of human activity.

Rabbit Habit

  • “Cottontail” describes the characteristic appearance of this certain rabbit’s tail: when it is raised, the white undersurface is conspicuous and resembles a fluff of cotton.
  • Rabbits feed almost entirely on plants. The three most preferred foods during all seasons are bluegrass, wheat and white clover.
  • During heavy snow cover, they eat buds, twigs, bark and sprouts of shrubs, vines and trees to survive.
  • Rabbits are herbivores, and convert plant matter into meat and thus form an important link in the food chain.

Learn how to make a rabbit box trap with this how-to from the MDC’s website.

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