MARSH RABBIT

Sylvilagus palustris

SIZE
14 – 16 inches

Marsh rabbits are medium-sized rabbits with short, rounded ears and small feet.  The head and tail is smaller than those of Eastern Cottontail rabbits.  They are dark brown to reddish brown with a dark belly and a dark underside of the tail, and have sparse fur and remarkably long toenails on their hind feet.  There is no substantial sexual dimorphism.

They are found in the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains, bottomland swamps, marshy areas and coastal islands from Virginia southward thru Florida and the Florida Keys.  Currently the Dismal Swamp in Virginia and North Carolina has the largest population of Marsh Rabbits.  They are semi aquatic, avid swimmers and herbivorous, feeding on blackberries, rhizomes, bulbs, marsh grasses, duck potato, cattails, centella, marsh pennywort and water hyacinths.  In winter they eat bark and twigs.

Their breeding season is February through September, although it may occur year round in southern Florida and the Florida Keys.  Rabbits are promiscuous, taking multiple mates.  Their nests are lined with grasses, weeds and breast fur and located on the ground in thickets, stumps, or logs.  For this reason nests and young are vulnerable to flooding and lost during tropical storms and hurricanes. 

The gestation period of the Marsh rabbit is twenty eight to thirty seven days.  The litters are small with two to four young.  They are born blind, almost hairless, and weigh only a few ounces.  Their eyes open in four to five days.  They depend upon their mother for milk until they leave the nest in twelve to fifteen days when they forage for themselves.   During a single season a female may have up to four litters; more if they breed all year round.  The age at sexual or reproductive maturity for the female is approximately 219 days.  The male is not involved in parental care.

Marsh rabbits are capable of living up to four years in the wild, but most of them die before they reach their first birthday.  Their predators are owls, hawks, bald eagles, bobcats, foxes, red wolves, alligators, water moccasins, and eastern diamondback rattlesnakes.  Being nocturnal they hide in dense vegetation during the day and forage at night.  When under attack, they often dive into the water as a means of escape.     

Here at Green Cay their population is consistently depleted by roaming Bobcats traversing their feeding territory.  When the Bobcats move on, the Marsh rabbits again increase in numbers.  Keep your eyes open for them on the habitat islands, the berm and in the parking lot.  If they are hungry, they will forage during the day.  Although the Marsh rabbit is an endangered species in the Lower Keys due to habitat fragmentation, here in the stable environment of the wetlands the species continues to survive.    

By Stephanie Canter