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Pygmy rabbits are the only North American rabbits that dig burrows and live in a sagebrush habitat. In the wild, pygmy rabbits eat sagebrush almost exclusively in the winter; during summer, they eat a more varied diet. They may have two to four litters of about two to six kits during the spring and summer breeding seasons.
The black portions of the upper parts often change to a dull grayish buff in spring and summer months, returning to a reddish or ochre color in fall, followed by darker black in the winter. Rabbits of peninsular Florida typically display darker and redder colors with a cinnamon-rufous nape, feet, and legs.
Female rabbits can have one to seven litters of one to twelve young, called kits, in a year; however, they average three to four litters per year, and the average number of kits is five. [15] In the southern states of the United States, female eastern cottontails have more litters per year (up to seven) but fewer young per litter.
The pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis) is a rabbit species native to the United States.It is also the only native rabbit species in North America to dig its own burrow. [5] [6] The pygmy rabbit differs significantly from species within either the Lepus (hare) or Sylvilagus (cottontail) genera and is generally considered to be within the monotypic genus Brachylagus.
In California and Nevada, the average litter size is around 6.1, 4.7 for rabbits in Washington and Oregon, and 2.0 for those in British Columbia. [8] The gestation period for this cottontail is 28–30 days, and the female may be bred during postpartum estrous.
This is a misleading as wild rabbits do not naturally prefer carrots over other plants. Carrots are high in sugar, and excessive consumption can be unhealthy. [209] This has led to some owners of domestic rabbits feeding a carrot heavy diet on this false perception. [210] [211]
Engraving of a wild rabbit and its skeleton by Johann Daniel Meyer (1752) The health of rabbits is well studied in veterinary medicine, owing to the importance of rabbits as laboratory animals and centuries of domestication for fur and meat. To stay healthy, most rabbits maintain a well-balanced diet of Timothy hay and vegetables. [1]
The New England cottontail is a medium-sized rabbit almost identical to the eastern cottontail. [8] [9] The two species look nearly identical, and can only be reliably distinguished by genetic testing of tissue, through fecal samples (i.e., of rabbit pellets), or by an examination of the rabbits' skulls, which shows a key morphological distinction: the frontonasal skull sutures of eastern ...