CottontailNew England’s © ANNE BROWN PHOTO Relict, opportunistic or soon-to-be endangered species, the New England cottontail has managed to keep a low profile. But it is in danger of disappearing from the woodlands of New Hampshire. BY JOHN A. LITVAITIS t one time or another, most of us have encountered a small state: Eastern and New England. And it is the New England Abrown bunny while out for a walk or while doing chores in cottontail that has our concern. Before I summarize the reasons for the backyard. If you’re a hunter, your experiences also may have that concern, let me give you a little background information. included walking through a brushy field hoping to kick up a In general appearance, New England cottontails are like rabbit or two for the stewpot. other North American rabbits. Smaller than Eastern cottontails, Hunters and naturalists in New Hampshire know that rabbits New England cottontails weigh just about 2 pounds. Brown and (cottontails) and snowshoe hares both occur in the state. In summer, a conspicuous white tail describe most rabbits. However, if you they’re often difficult to tell apart because they both have a brown look closely, you can find a few characteristics that can help you coat and usually don’t stand still long enough for us to get a good distinguish a New England from an Eastern cottontail. About look. In winter, however, the coat of a snowshoe hare turns white half of Eastern cottontails have a small white spot on their and that of a cottontail remains brown. But you may be surprised forehead. This is never found on a New England cottontail. The to know that we actually have two species of cottontails in the ears of a New England cottontail are shorter than those of an Eastern and there is a thin black line of fur along the outer edge. John Litvaitis is a professor of wildlife at the University of If you look closer, you’ll also notice a black spot right between New Hampshire and has authored many papers on wildlife the ears of a New England cottontail. These are the only ecology in professional publications. differences you can see. W7ILDLIFE J OURNAL WILDLIFE J OURNAL 7 If you’re a hunter, you know that Eastern are well known. During the late 1960s and early You have to look cottontails will often take you and your dog on a 1970s, Bob McDowell and a group of his students carefully to distinguish good run. But if you’ve ever encountered a New at the University of Connecticut searched for an an Eastern cottontail England cottontail, you know that they quickly answer to this question. McDowell and his stu- (top) from a New dart into an underground den or a rock wall as soon dents suggested that the early-successional habi- England cottontail as they sense danger. Perhaps the most important tats preferred by New England cottontails were (bottom). About half of difference between the two rabbits is where you’ll being lost to development and forest maturation. the Easterns have a find them. Eastern cottontails are found anywhere Additionally, New England cottontails were small white spot on there is a grassy opening and some nearby cover. apparently being displaced by expanding popu- their forehead; New A suburban lawn (food) and hedge (cover) can be lations of the larger (and assumed dominant) East- Englands don’t have ern cottontail. During the 1920s through the 1950s, suitable habitat for an Eastern cottontail. But this. The eyes of the state wildlife agencies and private hunting clubs you’ll never find a New England cottontail in Easterns are also these areas; they require very dense cover and introduced thousands of Eastern cottontails into bigger than New rarely venture far from it. southern New England. Most of these rabbits were Englands. And the ears Among the three species of rabbits and hares from populations in Kansas, Missouri and Texas. of a New England are found in New Hampshire and most of New En- Prior to these releases, Eastern cottontails ranged gland, a great deal is known about Eastern cotton- only as far north as southwestern Connecticut. shorter, with a thin tails and snowshoe hares. However, only limited These introductions probably triggered the ex- black line along the research has been directed toward understanding pansion of Eastern cottontails to areas as far north outer edge. A New the ecology of New England cottontails. This as the Canada-Vermont border. The notion that England also has a rather nondescript rabbit managed to evade tax- expanding populations of Eastern cottontails was black spot between the onomists for nearly a century. It wasn’t until 1895 affecting New England cottontails was quite ap- ears. that Outram Bangs first described New England pealing because the expansion cottontails as a subspecies of Eastern cottontails. of Eastern cottontails roughly Fourteen years later, E. W. Nelson recognized that coincided with the decline of this rabbit was indeed a distinct species. New England cottontails. But What really surprised biologists was a report in evidence was lacking. 1992 that indicated the New England cottontail Since 1990, I have been was actually two species! Based on regional dif- working with a group of gradu- ferences in chromosome numbers, populations ate students at the University west of the Hudson River in New York are now of New Hampshire to deter- considered “Appalachian cottontails,” whereas mine if this explanation or those to the east retain the name “New England others could help resolve why cottontail.” Most of us are only mildly surprised an animal like a cottontail to hear that a new species of bird or insect has been could be threatened with ex- encountered in the rain forests of South America. tinction. I suspected that habi- After all, taxonomists have only recently entered tat change was a more likely those forests. But to discover a new species of explanation for the decline in mammal in one of the most densely populated New England cottontails than regions of North America was quite unexpected. competition because there are regions of New England (es- © ALAN BRIERE PHOTO Threatened with Extinction pecially central New Hamp- shire and southern Maine) The revision in taxonomy may have some where Eastern cottontails do unexpected consequences. Wildlife biologists not occur and populations of have known that the abundance of New England New England cottontails have cottontails has declined sharply since the early still declined. 1960s. In spite of this decline, no serious action To appreciate the role of was taken, apparently because populations in the habitat change on New En- southern Appalachians seemed quite secure. How- gland cottontails, a short re- ever, these populations in the South are now view of the history of land use known to be Appalachian cottontails. As a result, in New England is helpful. In the New England cottontail may have the dubious New Hampshire, for example, distinction of becoming the newest threatened or relatively continuous forests endangered species in the United States because covered approximately 90 its range has declined by more than 75 percent. percent of the state at the time What could have caused such a rapid decline of settlement by Europeans. for a species like the New England cottontail? Like most colonized regions, After all, the reproductive capabilities of rabbits continued on next page W8ILDLIFE J OURNAL WILDLIFE J OURNAL 8 RANGE OF THE NEW ENGLAND COTTONTAIL From 1900 through 1960, there was an accumulation of Circa 1960 Current Range young forests throughout New England, filled with the thicket habitat ME ME preferred by the New England cottontail. After the early 1960s, these young forests VT VT began to mature. The NH NH New England NY NY cottontail is now found in only a few MA MA scattered places in its namesake range. CT CT RI RI forests were cleared for agriculture, and by 1880 To investigate this scenario, my students and remnant forests covered less than 40 percent of the I constructed a large enclosure where we placed state. But agriculture did not persist. Farmers both species. Rabbits adjusted quickly to the could not produce large enough crops from the enclosure. The only detectable difference be- thin, rocky soils to compete with midwestern tween them was that Eastern cottontails were agriculture. Most of this land was left idle and often observed in areas with little understory reverted to second-growth forests. cover. We then placed one of each species into a Using this information and a simple model of smaller enclosure to make more detailed observa- forest growth, I estimated that there was an accu- tions. To our surprise, Eastern cottontails did not mulation of young forests throughout New En- have an obvious ability to overpower New En- gland from approximately 1900 to 1960. Such gland cottontails. When rabbits were involved in During the 1920s forests were ideal for New England cottontails and “disagreements,” New England cottontails won through the other animals that rely on “thicket habitats.” about half of the bouts when there was a clear 1950s, state However, by the early 1960s, these lands matured winner. Physical domination, therefore, did not wildlife agencies into closed-canopy forests that were no longer explain why Eastern cottontails were more suc- suitable for rabbits and their populations rapidly cessful. and private declined. This pattern of land clearing and forest Our next experiment was a bit more elaborate. hunting clubs growth also explains the rise and fall of other We constructed a second enclosure where we were introduced mammals and birds that are dependent on young able to separate rabbits in individual sections of thousands of forest habitats, including bobcats, ruffed grouse the enclosure.