Talk:Cottontail rabbit

Cleanup
This article could use some improvement on tone. Leading sentences like "Unfortunately for the cottontail" are perhaps not the best way to convey information. It would be better to write "Cottontails are predated on by many species, including..." Further, some of the claims seem a little dubious. From what I have seen, eagles and hawks do not lift and drop rabbits to kill them, but swoop down and appear to stab the rabbit against the ground with the talons. That snakes know every burrow and hole and eat rabbits with impunity also strikes me as strange. Let me know how you wish to proceed66.65.34.135 (talk) 00:21, 19 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Would you say that having every living creature larger or faster than you trying to eat you as being a fortunate situation? As far as the large birds of prey lifting and dropping the cottontails: I have a rabbit sanctuary in the high desert. I have been caring for and feeding anywhere from 20 to 50 of these creatures daily for over 15 years. I've seen them dropped by birds, and then the carcasses are carried away to wherever. I have however seen birds poke at a trapped cottontail until it is dead as well, and I will add it to the article. As far as the local snakes are concerned: These borrows that the lagomorphs live and breed in, are used over and over again annually. Since the lagomorphs don't dig their own burrows, but use deserted ones made by other mammals, it is no secret to generations of snakes that live in the area, where these burrows exist. In the desert this is particularly true, because the landscape is consistent, and unaffected by weather. Thanks - Pocketthis (talk) 17:16, 19 May 2016 (UTC)
 * I eliminated the word:unfortunately from the section, as not to turn this into an ongoing debate, however, my personal opinion when discussing living things on this site, is that a little compassion or personality can make reading these articles more interesting as well as more human, especially since an article like this is mostly read by grammar school students. However, your point is well taken, and in encyclopedic rhetoric I suppose, it is not for us to say what is unfortunate or not unfortunate- Pocketthis (talk) 19:05, 19 May 2016 (UTC)

Untitled
What is the measurable difference between a hare and a rabbit??


 * Nothing. Members of the family Leporidae are sometimes called rabbits, sometimes hares, sometimes even cottontails or jackrabbits. The difference between rabbits and hares is only a product of common names. Ucucha 09:48, 2 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Well, usually the members of the genera Lepus, Caprolagus and Pronolagus are considered hares (even if called jackrabbits), while the members of the genera Pentalagus, Bunolagus, Nesolagus, Romerolagus, Brachylagus, Sylvilagus, Oryctolagus, and Poelagus are called rabbits. But it's true that neither of these groupings is monophyletic. --Angr/undefined 14:35, 2 September 2005 (UTC)
 * Typically hare offspring are born with hair, while rabbit offspring are born without hair. Hare young are often born in the open, like deer.  Rabbit young are usually provided a nest.  If you don't believe me, look it up. TeamZissou 06:59, 3 April 2007 (UTC)
 * I can't resist.... So if I'm standing near a rabbit warren, and I can see a typical open patch where a hare is likely to birth, I could say "Hair hare there, no hair rabbit here." :) - UtherSRG (talk) 10:55, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

Named after Hugh Hefner
In the Hef page, it is claimed that the Latin name of the cottontail rabbit comes from Hugh Heffner. Is that accurate? --BiT 20:54, 30 June 2007 (UTC)
 * It's true. - UtherSRG (talk) 21:43, 30 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Sylvilagus palustris hefneri (Lower Keys Rabbit), an endangered subspecies of the marsh rabbit for anyone who's interested. TeamZissou 18:46, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

Need more pics?
I've taken some photos of a Cottontail in the wild (Louisiana). The photos came out nice. I was able to get close to it before it finally fled. They sometimes freeze in front of something they see as a threat, and won't flee until it's very close (in hopes it won't see them). Luckily, it decided to do this as I meandered towards it, trying to look nonchalant, haha. They're surprisingly smart. I've seen a few hop on a log or stump and let my hunting dogs run right past them. :) Nice defense, but not always the best idea against the sharp eyes of a human. Luckily for him, I no longer own dogs, it's out of season, and I haven't hunted rabbits in years, lol. I'll just be "rabbit shooting" with my camera. So I offer the pics freely if it would be a help. The existing pic is nice, but it's not in the wild I'm sure. :) The rabbit must be at least somewhat tamed to get so close in the open. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.142.164.32 (talk) 00:55, 12 July 2009 (UTC)

Bold textvv $$Insert formula here$$ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.231.185.146 (talk) 13:28, 26 August 2009 (UTC)

Cottontail not a Hare?
A great number of people I thought would have known have claimed to me that a cottontail is not a rabbit but a Hare. Was it once classified as a Hare?Carlw4514 (talk) 19:22, 21 September 2009 (UTC)


 * I figured after three years, Carl deserved an answer..lol. Here or Hare it is: Rabbits and Hares were formerly classified in the order Rodentia (rodent) until 1912, when they were moved into a new order Lagomorpha. This order also includes pikas. C&P from "Rabbit". Pocketthis (talk) 14:13, 28 September 2012 (UTC)


 * Strictly speaking, true hares (that is the species that are born with fur, open eyes, and generally greater precociousness) are within the genus Lepus, which is in the family Leporidae, which includes all rabbits and hares. Cottontails are in the genus Sylvilagus, another genus in the same family. So they're not true hares. The confusion rises because of three main factors. First, some other species that aren't in Lepus have the word "hare" in their common name, such as the red rock hares found in southern Africa. Secondly, a few species of true hares found in western North America are known by the common name "jackrabbit", a term that arose as a contraction of "jackass rabbit", an informal term comparing their large ears to the tall ears of a donkey. And thirdly because cottontail rabbits, which are only found in the Americas, have some more hare-like qualities than other rabbits, in terms of appearance and nesting behavior. Never the less, they're not true hares, strictly defined, because they don't have precocious births and aren't in the genus Lepus. oknazevad (talk) 01:30, 16 August 2021 (UTC)

Missing Brush rabbit
Not sure where to plug it in on the tree https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brush_rabbit ---rudyard (talk) 22:51, 26 February 2018 (UTC)

Confusing...
This sentence seems to imply they are rodents: "In contrast to many rodents, which generally sit on their hind legs and hold food with their front paws while feeding, cottontails eat while on all fours." It's the word "many," which destroys the neat, exclusive boxes.

I wonder if "cottontails" could more precisely be replaced with "rabbits?" ...that sentence seems to bring hares & all the cousins into the conversation. I'm thinking breaking it into several sentences might help.  --2602:306:CFCE:1EE0:CC68:DC86:F18A:B7ED (talk) 02:30, 20 April 2020 (UTC) Just Saying
 * → When that was first written it was crystal clear. As with so many articles, the habit of 'over editing just to edit' resulted in that paragraph becoming a mess. Thanks for noticing it and bringing it forward.Jessie Eastland (talk) 18:49, 20 April 2020 (UTC)