Eastern Cottontail

Rabbits are fairly common in my area, and AFAIK they are Eastern Cottontails, though 2 very close relatives potentially live in New Jersey: New England Cottontail and Appalachian Cottontail. (They're not only close relatives, but look very similar. To distinguish them authoritatively, be prepared to perform a DNA test.)

Though they can live up to 9 years in captivity, it sounds like you're almost never going to meet one that old; in the wild they're usually going to live 1-3 years. There are a number of reasons for this:

  • Lots of animals eat them. Cats, dogs, raccoons, foxes, coyotes, weasels, minks, snakes, hawks, and owls all consider rabbits to be an excellent meal.
  • They're weakened by lots of common parasites like fleas, ticks, lice, worms, and flies.
  • Cars take a toll on them.
  • Our over-population of deer depletes many of their food sources.
Still, their ability to breed means they replenish their numbers well enough that you're fairly likely to run across this little guys.

June 2, 2021 at Negri-Nepote Native Grassland Preserve
Photo 136367907, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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