Fig. 1. Cottontail in bag with ear protruding, ready for marking with nylon ribbon and metal ear-tag shown in upper right hand corner. × ¼.
Fig. 2. Cottontail bearing ear-tags and ribbon. × ¼.
When moving undisturbed through the woods cottontails usually do not pause to forage or associate with other cottontails, but keep to a straight route except in severe weather, when, as noted above, they find resting places in the woods. Ninety-two per cent of the cottontails captured in live-traps were captured within 100 feet of a woodland edge; six per cent were captured in the woods, more than 100 feet from an edge, and two per cent were captured in grassland more than 100 feet from the edge. In winter, when the air temperature was less than 20° F., 22 per cent of the cottontails were captured in the woods more than 100 feet from the edge.
The maximum distance between two centers of activity of an individual was 700 feet, average 550 feet. If two centers of activity were maintained, the cottontail usually traversed the entire home range every seven to 11 days.
In no case was a cottontail known to have lived in two woodland edges which were separated by open grassland. Cottontails usually did not move more than 75 feet from suitable cover. In winter when herbaceous vegetation was dormant cottontails did not cross open fields.
Forms in grass clumps were the usual resting place for cottontails, but others in brush piles, rock outcrops, and tree stumps were also used. On the average a cottontail maintained 3.5 forms. If disturbed repeatedly at a form, a cottontail would permanently desert it. On seven occasions a cottontail used a form that had been used by another within 24 hours. Three cottontails used the same shelter under a rock ledge in five days; one was under the ledge on December 17, 1955, and another was there on December 18. The first was there again on December 20 and a third was there on December 21. The original cottontail had returned by January 2, 1956. There may be 20 to 30 resting places used by cottontails within a single home range area since five to seven cottontails may live there as co-occupants at one time. Two cottontails, both males, lived together in a Smilax thicket for three weeks, resting within 15 inches of each other. Occasionally a female was present in the same thicket, and rested about three feet from the males.
A male trapped on land adjoining the Reservation and confined overnight at the Reservation headquarters escaped the next day and was seen 32 days later, 1800 feet from the point of escape, back in the area where it was originally captured.
A female confined for observation, escaped and ran in the direction opposite from her home. Subsequently she was seen on four different occasions, over a period of one month, in her original home range, 1,100 feet from the point where she escaped. Both these animals which made homing movements had been removed in cloth bags from their homes.
Another cottontail removed from its home range and taken to the laboratory building to be marked, escaped and ran to a nearby wooded hillside without pursuit where it could be observed because of snow on the ground and lack of leaves on the trees. The animal ran and hopped about over a one-half acre area. Its movements seemed to be unoriented and it frequently stopped and stood on its hind legs in order to look about. After 10 minutes of this behavior, a red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) screamed as it flew overhead. The cottontail, stimulated by seeing and/or hearing the hawk, ran faster, moving in circles until it disappeared from view five minutes later. When last observed the cottontail was 1,700 feet from its home range and was headed in the opposite direction. It had passed several potential shelters but had not attempted to use them, presumably because it was not familiar with the area. Although for several months afterward traps were operated in the cottontail's home range area and in the area where it escaped, the animal was never recaptured.