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Marsh Rabbit
Photograph copyright: Chad Anderson - all rights reserved. Used with permission. |
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MARSH RABBIT FACTS
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Description
Marsh rabbits are semi-aquatic and good swimmers, and they sometimes hide in water to avoid danger. The fur is dark brown fur above with cinnamon color on back of the neck; the underside is white. The ears are broad and short. The tail is gray with dark underside. Female March Rabbits are larger than males.
Size
Length: 35cm - 45c,. Weight: 1kg - 2kg.
Environment
swamps, lake margins, coastal waterways
Food
herbaceous plants, bark, leaves
Breeding
The female builds a nest lined with hair. A litter of 3 - 8 (usually 5) is born after gestation period of about 28 days. The young are naked and blind at birth and are weaned after about 16 days.
Range
south east United States from Virginia to southwest Florida.
Notes
Marsh Rabbits are hunted for sport and food
Classification
| Class: | Mammalia | | Order: | Lagomorpha | | Family: | Leporidae | | Genus: | Sylvilagus | | Species: | palustris | | Common Name: | Marsh Rabbit |
Relatives in same Genus
Swamp Rabbit (S. aquaticus)
Desert Cottontail (S. audubonii)
Brush Rabbit (S. bachmani)
Eastern Cottontail (S. floridanus)
New England Cottontail (S. transitionalis)
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