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What follows are the species profiles of mammals that are found in and around agricultural fields in the Cannon River Watershed. Each species listed includes the description, the status (including range), and the natural and agricultural roles of the mammal. The most abundant mammals, or those with the greatest impacts, will also be listed in each section. |
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Rabbits and Hares |
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Few gardeners or farmers will speak positively of rabbits and hares. They are especially effective grazers and, when abundant, can cause serious damage to gardens and crops. Yet they serve valuable natural roles as prey for foxes, coyotes, and birds of prey. The two species that occur in the Cannon River Watershed are the white-tailed jackrabbit and the eastern cottontail. |
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White-tailed Jackrabbit - Lepus townsendii
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| Description |
This hare has a total length around 625cm (574-673), with a tail around 91cm (64-108). This is the largest hare in Minnesota. In the summer, the jackrabbit is a brownish gray above and white or pale gray below. In the winter, it is all white except for a black patch on the tip of each ear. It has a long and bushy white tail. |
| Status |
The white-tailed jackrabbit is common in the open areas of southern Minnesota, but absent in the northeast quarter. It ranges from Wisconsin westward through the northern great plains region. |
| Natural Role |
The white-tailed jackrabbit is strictly a herbivore, feeding on a variety of grasses and forbs such as clover and alfalfa in the summer, and on bark in the winter. It is preyed upon by foxes, coyotes, snakes, and many predatory birds. |
| Agricultural Role |
When abundant, this hare can be an agricultural pest by destroying crops, eating stored hay, and girdling trees (Gosline, 2001). In small numbers, however, it is not economically significant. They do help support predators, however, that prey on many other pest species. |
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Eastern Cottontail - Sylvilagus floridanus
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| Description |
The total length of this rabbit is around 434cm (405-478), with a tail around 49cm (33-65). The back fur of the eastern cottontail is a mottled grayish brown, with grayer sides, and a whitish underside. The nape of the neck is distinctly reddish, and the underside of the short tail is white. |
| Status |
The eastern cottontail is common throughout Minnesota in partially wooded or brushy areas and in residential areas. It is uncommon or absent in either closed forest or open prairie. It ranges throughout the United States, Mexico, and southern Canada east of the Rocky Mountains. |
| Natural Role |
The eastern cottontail is primarily a herbivore, feeding on grasses as well as wild strawberries and clover in the summer, and woody vegetation in the winter. It is preyed upon by foxes, coyotes, birds of prey, and weasels. |
| Agricultural Role |
This rabbit can be a serious pest to gardeners and farmers in the summer by eating vegetable crops, and to orchardists in the winter by eating the bark of young trees. |
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