Home Range and Movements of the Eastern Cottontail in KansasJanes, Donald W.
Science
Home Range and Movements of the Eastern Cottontail in Kansas
Janes, Donald W.
Cottontails
Trailing in snow is an effective method of studying the daily
activities. The record preserved by the tracks becomes somewhat
confused after the snow has lain on the ground for more than one night,
and after the third night it is impossible to read the surface of the
snow. The first day of thaw usually ends tracking because the
investigator loses the trail when it crosses a patch of bare ground.
The use of a dye on the feet of the individual to be trailed eliminates
much of the difficulty of determining which tracks are to be followed.
One or more feet can be dyed when the investigator handles the animal
in releasing it from the trap. The trail of dyed footprints is
distinguishable from all other rabbit tracks in the area. Even when
only patches of snow remain, the animal can be followed by checking the
edges of the snow for the emerging footprints of the marked rabbit. The
same dye is used to color the tails. The color persists in the
footprints for about three hours, over a distance of 600 to 800 yards.
The animal leaves only a small spot in each footprint, but when it
pauses, the mark is large. Red dye makes the most conspicuous mark in
the snow.
Thirty-one rabbits were trailed 68 times with one to six records for
different individuals. Almost two-thirds of the trailing records
pertain to males, which were caught more easily than females while snow
was on the ground.
The trail, for both sexes, in those individuals released and followed
immediately was longer than in individuals released and allowed to move
away before they were followed. The area ranged over by a trailed
individual was not significantly greater in either case. The area
ranged over was greater by day than by night. Individuals continued to
move while being followed in the day, but stopped to forage and look
about at night.
Records were obtained by identifying cottontails that I flushed from
forms as I walked through the study area, sometimes using a
noise-making device or dragging a rope. Regular search was made along
the hilltop rock outcrops, under which hiding cottontails could be
identified with the aid of a flashlight. Forms in brush piles, and
thickets were visited and the inhabitants identified. Other persons,
working on the study area, supplied some of the records of cottontails
that were seen alive or found dead. Also through binoculars or a
telescope I watched movements of undisturbed individuals. Twenty-three
individuals were identified 59 times. Nine females were seen 28 times
and 14 males were seen 31 times. Sixty-five other individuals were
seen, but could not be identified in the field.
MOTIVATION AND EXTENT OF MOVEMENTS
The home range is an area in which an animal carries on its normal
activities of eating, resting, mating, caring for young, and escaping
from predators. The cottontail establishes a definite home range and
may live its entire life within this area, which permits familiarity
with food sources, hiding places, and escape routes.
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