Desert Cottontail Rabbit

The desert cottontail is often seen around Gene's desert home. Also known as Audubon's cottontail, is a New World cottontail rabbit, Cottontails are herbivores, with 90% of their diet consisting of grass. They also feed on the leaves and peas of mesquite, barks, fallen fruit, the juicy pads of prickly pear and twigs of shrubs. It rarely needs to drink, getting its water mostly from the plants it eats or from dew. Unlike the European rabbit, desert cottontails do not form social burrow systems, but compared with some other leporids, they are extremely tolerant of other individuals in their vicinity.