Desert Cottontail Rabbit Diet

Habitat and Description

• The desert cottontail is common in grasslands, deserts and chaparral, the terrain common to the hills in Southern California and the Southwest. This rabbit species is usually found in the United States plains, in the southwestern states ranging from California to Texas. You can even find the cottontail as far north as the lower portions of North Dakotas. The cottontail's habitat has a large impact on what it consumes.

  In the simplest sense, the cottontail has an upturned tail that looks like a cotton ball and it has large, black-tipped ears.

Typical Diet

• Since the cottontail typically resides in more arid environments, it tends to eat as much green vegetation as possible. The cottontail prefers to eat grass shoots if they are available. If the cottontail is located in the chaparral, which tends to be a drier environment, it will feed on leaves and twigs. For those cottontails located in desert environments, they tend to flock to cactus because it is a plant with higher water content than most other plants in the desert region. Cottontails will also incorporate bark and fruit in their diet if they have access to them.

  To most people, the cottontail is a cute animal, but its dietary desires tend to wreak havoc on local farmers. The cottontail is common near industrial areas and will feed, voraciously, on farmers' crops. To prevent crop devastation from cottontail consumption, many states provide hunting licenses for hunting cottontails. A more humane method is planting rows of clover plants around the farm, because cottontails are particularly fond of the clover plant.

Atypical Eating Habits

• The cottontail is also particular in that it tends to be a solitary creature that burrows under shrubs during the day, while feeding at night. It is most active in the evening hours, which can prove particularly frustrating for farmers. Additionally, the cottontail has an odd dietary practice in which it will re-ingest its feces.

  Typically, the cottontail produces small fecal pellets that are hard and dry. Occasionally, the vegetation that it has consumed is not fully digested and exits the cottontail's body as green soft pellets. The cottontail will consume these soft pellets to obtain additional minerals and nutrients. This practice is required for both feral and domestic cottontails. Finally, cottontails do not directly consume water. Instead, they obtain the requisite water from the vegetation they consume as well as the dew that forms on the vegetation while they feed at night.