It’s pretty easy to see why cottontail rabbits are called cottontail rabbits. The fluffy white of their tails looks just like a small piece of cotton.

Their fur colors can vary from a brownish-gray to a reddish-brown. With a body length of 14 to 17 inches and weighing as little as 28 ounces for the females (doe) and males (buck) as much as 54 ounces.

With a short life span of 2-3 years, they face many predators both wild and domestic. Besides dogs, cats and humans other predators include snakes, squirrels, weasels, coyotes, foxes, bobcats, and many species of birds of prey. They rely on camouflage, freezing and fleeing to avoid predators.

They have been recorded sitting completely still for 20 minutes. When that does not work to dissuade a predator, they take off using a zigzag pattern and can reach speeds up to 20 miles an hour. The zigzag pattern helps them outwit predators.

Most predators have a difficult time following this pattern and it also helps to disrupt the scent trail.

An interesting fact I learned was that they don’t venture too far from safety on windy days because wind can interfere with their hearing. I compare this to not being able to hear a caller on my cellphone if I am outside on a windy day.

Being alert and hearing an incoming predator is the best way for them to escape.

Cottontails don’t dig the hole like Bugs Bunny, but they do use burrows that have been abandoned by other animals. They are constantly searching for new burrows because predators become aware of the ones that are used for long periods of time.

Cottontails cover about 9 acres as far as a home range.

While they are mostly mute, they can communicate with each other by a series of thumps using their back feet. They also make low vocalizations with each other such as grunting, which indicates an annoyance, and honking, which indicates a mating call. They also use body language, according to one study.

Mated rabbits will touch the tops of each other’s head with theirs, rarely fight and they will groom each other. They can screech quite loudly if caught by a predator.

The first time I fed a baby bunny and it let out a screech, I nearly had a heart attack. I had no idea rabbits made any sound at all.

After mating, the females will trample and pull vegetation from the ground lining the nests, called forms, fur and leaves. Attempts are made to make the nests look like patches of dead grasses and weeds.

To protect the young, they pay very little attention to them. Visiting and feeding twice a day and both times it is under the cover of darkness. Their milk is so rich that two feedings are all that is necessary for the growing young.

The young which are called kits are born naked and with their eyes closed.

Females average 3 litters per year with 3-7 young in each litter. The young grow quickly; eyes open at 4-7 days and at 12-14 days they make short trips from the nest. At 3 months old they are considered full-grown.

The adult females will begin their breeding within the first year of their lives.

It is estimated that a mated pair of rabbits could produce 200,000 descendants in three years if given the perfect conditions.

So, that’s where that expression came from!

Jeannie Carl is a naturalist at the Carbon County Environmental Education Center in Summit Hill. The center rehabilitates injured animals and educates the public on a variety of wildlife found in the area. For information on the Carbon County Environmental Center, visit www.carboneec.org.