Chesapeake Bay Program - Marsh Rabbit

<body> <p>The marsh rabbit, <em>Sylvilagus palustris</em>, a small member of the Family Leporidae, inhabits coastal marshes, swamps and bottom lands in the southern U.S., from southeastern Virginia (along the Chesapeake Bay) down through Georgia and Florida, and west into Alabama's coastal plain.</p> <p>Fifty-four species in the Leporidae family are known to exist worldwide, and 18 species of hares and rabbits can be found in North America. Most are medium-sized grazing mammals with exceptionally long ears and hind legs. They have outstanding reproductive success, which partly compensates for the high rate of predation they experience and for an increasing loss of habitat. Their protruding eyes are situated on the sides of the head, enabling them to see across a wide area. Unlike most mammals, the males (or bucks) of most species in this family are generally smaller than females (known as does).</p> <p>Hares tend to be larger than rabbits and may rely more on their keen hearing and powerful hindquarters to get them out of a tight spot. Rabbits, like hares, use their strong sense of smell to detect predators and thump the earth when they become alarmed. But rabbits will elude predators by switching direction suddenly and then, if possible, disappearing into dense undergrowth, rather than attempting to outrun their pursuer. All species are nocturnal, and generally silent, except in distress, when they may issue a high-pitched call. Females also may make a low purring sound while nursing. </p> <p>While hares rest in shallow depressions and use whatever protected areas are available for nests, rabbits create small nests or dens using rushes or leaves and then line the nest with the female's breast fur. Hares are born fully furred and with their eyes open; rabbits are naked and blind at birth, and remain in the nest until fully weaned.</p> <p>The marsh rabbit has dark brown to reddish brown fur above, with a similarly dark or russet nape. Its belly is white, but unlike the cottontail with its puffy white tail, the marsh rabbit's tail is insignificant and grayish brown. The marsh rabbit's ears also are smaller than those of most rabbits in the wild, and its feet are small, also reddish brown. Overall adult length is approximately 13 to 17 inches, and they weigh an average of 3.5 pounds. </p> <p>The marsh rabbit often reaches sexual maturity before it is a year old, and it breeds frequently, sometimes producing six litters of three to five young a year. Gestation takes place between 30 and 37 days. Nestlings remain with the mother until weaned, usually in about four weeks. Thereafter the young forage for themselves, usually at dawn, dusk or at nightfall, consuming a wide variety of wetland and forest plants, including cattails, the bark, leaves and twigs of trees; and canes and grasses. </p> <p>Since they feed at night, marsh rabbits also are hunted by nocturnal predators, including hawks, the great horned owl, the northern harrier, foxes, bobcats and in the deep south, by the American alligator. Young rabbits are sometimes taken from their nests by large snakes. The marsh rabbit is less agile on land than other leporids, but it is an exceptionally strong swimmer. When possible, this rabbit may flee to the water, where it can either swim away or float with only its eyes and nose visible at the surface. It also is the only rabbit species known to walk on its hind legs. </p> <p>In the lower Florida Keys, a subspecies of the marsh rabbit (the Lower Keys Marsh Rabbit) has been placed on the U.S. Endangered Species List as being endangered in Florida, due to an influx of residential and commercial development, which has drastically reduced its habitat and introduced new risks-including mortality by automobiles or house cats.</p> </body>