Desert Cottontail

Desert Cottontail,  Sylvilagus audubonii

Desert Cottontail,  Sylvilagus audubonii. Captive animal within the confines of the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, Palm Desert, California, March 2011. Photograph courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California. New for 2023.  Not added to any indexes.

The Desert Cottontail, Sylvilagus audubonii, is a member of the Leporidae family of Rabbits and Hares. The Leporidae family consists of sixty-four species placed in eleven genera. There are twenty global species in the Sylvilagus genus. The Desert Cottontail is known in Mexico as Cola de Algodón Del Desierto.

Desert Cottontails are tan to gray in color with a yellowish tinge. The underside of their body is white and they often have an orange-brown throat patch. They have big eyes that are outlined by light tan fur. Their tail is rounded and resembles a cotton ball with a white underside and dark dorsal surface. Their large, wide ears typically measure 33 cm (13 inches) to 43 cm (17 inches) in length and have little fur on them. Desert Cottontails measure 35.5 (14 inches) to 38 cm (15 inches) in length and weigh between 454 grams (1.0 lb 0 oz) and 908 grams (2 lbs 0 oz). They display slight sexual dimorphism with females growing somewhat larger than males. 

Desert Cottontails are social among their peers, often gathering in small groups to feed. They are promiscuous and mate from January to late summer. The female makes a nest by digging a shallow hole in the ground and lining it with fur and grass before giving birth approximately one month after mating. In one year, a female can give birth to 2 to 6 litters, with each litter containing between 1 to 5 young. Their young are precocial, being born naked and with their eyes closed. By 2 to 3 weeks of age they leave the nest, but remain with their mother for another 3 weeks. Juveniles become sexually mature when they are about 3 months old. Desert Cottontails are active in early morning, late afternoon, and at night, avoiding the hottest parts of the day. To escape the heat, they rest in depressions under grass or brush. They are herbivores and consume grass, cacti, bark, and other plant parts. Desert Cottontails are preyed upon by rattlesnakes, hawks, owls, coyotes, foxes, badgers, bobcats, and even domestic dogs and cats. To evade predators, they run at speeds of up to 1.6 kilometers (20 miles) per hour in zigzag patterns toward nearby brush. However, despite these tactics, Desert Cottontails have lifespans of less than two years in the wild. 

Desert Cottontails are found throughout the western United States from the Great Plains in the east, north into eastern Montana, and west to the Pacific Ocean. In Mexico, they are found throughout all of the Baja California Sur and south through central Mexico to northern Puebla. They inhabit arid and mountainous regions, woodlands, grasslands, creosote brush, and desert areas. 

Desert Cottontails may be confused with the Eastern Cottontail, Sylvilagus floridanus (larger and reddish-brown in color with a white spot on their forehead).

From a conservation perspective, the Desert Cottontail is currently considered to be of Least Concern being common with a wide distribution, and are habitat and dietary generalists. They are primarily threatened by habitat loss and predation by invasive species, including dogs and cats, in areas populated by humans. The Desert Cottontail is hunted for sport and local subsidence. As an important game species, they are regulated by individual states in the United States, where they are not considered to be under threat.