Mountain Cottontail (Sylvilagus nuttallii) lives in mountain shrublands across Western North America. It feeds on grass and leaves. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Mountain Cottontail
- Mountain cottontails spend roughly half of their waking hours feeding, often climbing juniper trees to reach foliage. Their diet shifts with the seasons: sagebrush dominates in winter, while grasses such as wheatgrasses, needle-and-thread, and Indian ricegrass become primary foods in spring and summer. This flexible foraging lets them survive in both sagebrush-dominated northern ranges and forested southern slopes, where plant availability changes dramatically throughout the year.
- Females give birth after an average gestation of 29 days, producing litters of 3-4 kits, and can raise about 3.5 litters per year during a four-month breeding window from February to July. In California and Nevada the average litter size reaches 6.1, while in British Columbia it drops to just 2.0.
- Across its range the mountain cottontail is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, yet state assessments label it vulnerable in Arizona and British Columbia. Climate change and competition from eastern and desert cottontails have already shrunk its distribution, pushing it out of Texas and reducing numbers in North Dakota where it is now presumed locally extinct. These trends highlight that even a species deemed secure globally can face serious regional threats that demand targeted conservation.
- Mountain cottontails can leap, unlike the snowshoe hare's long hops, and their tracks in snow are much smaller and less splayed.
- A single mountain cottontail can weigh between 0.7 kg and 1.2 kg and measure 35 cm to 39 cm long, making it medium-to-large for its genus. Their hind feet reach up to 103 mm and ears are only 54-100 mm long.
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.
At a glance
RangeWestern North America
HabitatMountain shrublands
DietGrass and leaves
About the Mountain Cottontail
In the sun-dappled underbrush of the mountainous west, the mountain cottontail embarks on its daily wanderings, its oversized hind legs propelling it in graceful, loping bounds across the rocky terrain. With an air of quiet confidence, this diminutive rabbit navigates the labyrinthine thickets and shrublands, its large brown eyes ever-vigilant for the telltale signs of predators lurking in the shadows. As it moves, the cottontail's soft, silky fur blends seamlessly into the muted hues of its surroundings, rendering it all but invisible in the dappled light of its mountain stronghold.
Hear the Mountain Cottontail, and 4,400+ more
Real recorded sounds, 11 nature games and a free Daily 5, 1v1 quiz duels, conservation wins and a safe Kids mode. Free on Feravox.
