Posted on 09/17/2011 6:24:16 PM PDT by decimon
CONWAY, Mass (Reuters) - The New England cottontail rabbit, in sharp decline for decades throughout the Northeast, is on the verge of disappearing from several states, with the reason somewhat a mystery, wildlife experts say.
The once prolific breeder, already no longer found in Vermont, has nearly vanished from Rhode Island and New Hampshire and exists in only negligible populations in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine and New York, according to biologists and U.S. officials.
The New England native apparently has been supplanted by a look-alike competitor -- the abundant eastern cottontail, of which more than 200,000 were introduced locally in the early 1900s for hunters, a Rhode Island study found this week.
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A possible cause is predators including coyotes and bobcats returning in large numbers, lured by plentiful eastern cottontail for them to feed on, said Husband in a statement.
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(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
According to University of New Hampshire Wildlife Prof. John A. Litvaitis, “Brown and a conspicuous white tail describe most rabbits. Smaller than Eastern cottontails, the New England cottontails weigh just about two pounds. If you look closely, you can find a few characteristics that can help you distinguish a New England from an Eastern cottontail. About half of Eastern cottontails have a small white spot on their forehead, which is never found on a New England cottontail. The ears of a New England cottontail are shorter than those of an Eastern, and there is a thin black line of fur along the outer edge. You’ll also notice a black spot right between the ears of a New England cottontail. These are the only differences you can see.”
http://www.yorklandtrust.org/Cottontail.html
Obama keeps on his present course, in a year or so we're going to be reading about the *mysterious* disappearance of pigeons.
Most areas of New Jersey are too built up for much hunting. Maybe bow hunting would be okay. Hunting with shotgun is common in most of the northeast.
Is the “New England cottontail” just another of those so-called “species” which , like the “Florida panther,” was created out of thin air by the econuts and government-dependent scientists so they can claim it is “endangered” and get study money when in fact there is not a dime’s worth of difference from the common nonendangered species beyond some superficial detail, so little difference that when the two “species” are put together they happily and successfully breed because even they don’t give a crap about the distinguishing “detail” that the econut considers all-important?
I’ve seen rabbits but usually not for long enough to pick out features.
You mean squabs are what is for dinner??
Yet, they are both Eastern Gray Squirrels, not separate species, not even different subspecies. They are different morphs of the same thing.
I expect that sooner or later someone will want to label them as separate and declare each of them endangered.
Same goes for Eastern Screech Owls. There's a rufous form and a gray form. They don't give a hoot about the color of their mate or offspring and the cottontails probably don't, either.
Could be the New England cottontail, like their human neighbors, just got too liberal and metrosexual and over time their birthrate dropped as they got all involved in global warming protests and art fairs. Now the illegals have moved in and are simply outbreeding them. :-)
Hybridization occurs with the eastern cottontail and New England cottontail at overlapping ranges.
Just another eco-scam by the environazis.
I ( when hunting ) think of the novel “ Watership Down” for some reason....
I see ‘Fiver’ everyday in the field.
LOL
Connecticut is full of rabbits. A lack of rabbits is not a problem.
The problem is making too fine a distinction by humans.
The difference between these rabbits is about the same as the difference between a Finn and a Swede.
I;m assuming its global warming.
I understand the concept and your concern that the “endangered” label is misused. This distinction looks legit, though, as the eastern ones were introduced into New England decades ago because the New England variety was only 2 #. The eastern ones we see here in DE must be 5 # anyway, so they’d obviously be more desirable to hunters. That link gives a nice little natural history.
Make sure you have some beans and different meats to add to that stew. Rabbit is short a couple of proteins we need, so you could “starve” eating rabbit.
Lots of game returning back there.
My brother says he sees turkeys often, which is something I never saw as a kid.
And about 2001, I was back in upstate NY, borrowed my nephews car and was driving somewhere, turned a corner and almost ran over a turkey buzzard standing in the middle of a dirt road. He wouldn’t move until I started beeping at him!
Brave or stupid... or both!
Given my experience, I would never say that in any pub over there.
I know someone who busted the radiator on a Prius by running into a turkey vulture. The car and the vulture arrived at the roadkill at the same instant.
Woundwort craps the bed in the end. Well, a dog kills him amyways.
Good book.
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