228 ANIMAL LIFE IN THE YOSEMITE 



Joaquin Valley afford ideal conditions for cottontails; there they are 

 numerous. But cottontails do not always live about shrubbery. On some 

 of the open hillsides between Lagrange and Merced Falls, cottontails occur 

 in numbers, their only shelter being burrows in the ground, presumably 

 those deserted by ground squirrels and remodelled by the rabbits. 



Cottontails are abroad chiefly in the early morning and late afternoon 

 hours; the duration of these daily periods of activity is somewhat longer 

 than that of the brush rabbits. At Snelling, in May, they were seen abroad 

 between 6 and 8 a.m. and were probably out much earlier in the morning. 

 Near Hayward (on the road to Coulterville) a cottontail was seen to cross 

 the road about 9 a.m. one day in early May. In the afternoon, during the 

 summer months, these animals maj^ be abroad as early as 4 o'clock, in 

 places shaded from direct sunshine, but at that season more are apt to 

 be seen toward dusk of evening. In favorable places two or three, and on 

 occasion even more, of the animals forage in close proximity to one another. 



The cottontail seems to prefer thickets interspersed with small clearings 

 or grassy glades in which it may feed. In one case three individuals were 

 noted in an alfalfa patch in the river bottomland at Snelling. They were 

 about 25 feet out from thickets of willows and blackberries, and each 

 individual, though feeding, was actively alert and ready to dash back to 

 cover at the first intimation of danger. 



Like all of the rabbit tribe the cottontail is speedy when running, though 

 for safety it depends on seeking shelter quickly rather than on outdistanc- 

 ing its enemy. Rarely is there a chance to judge even roughly of the speed 

 at which a cottontail can run. Once, on December 20, 1914, one was seen 

 as it ran for a short distance parallel to the railroad train near Merced 

 Falls. The speed of the train was estimated to be 20 miles an hour and 

 the rabbit appeared to be going about three-fourths as fast or about 15 

 miles an hour. 



Concerning the breeding of the cottontail, little of a definite character 

 is known. On May 24, 1915, a half-grown individual {8. auduhonii) wa^ 

 captured at Pleasant Valley. This would point to breeding early in the 

 year. A young Washington Cottontail was seen near Mono Lake Post 

 Office on June 30, 1916. 



Mariposa Brush Rabbit 

 Sylvilagus bachmani mariposae Grinnell and Storer 



Field characters. — General appearance much like that of small domestic rabbit; ears 

 shorter than head (fig. 35o), half as broad as long; tail short, white of tail much 

 restricted. Head and body 10 to 12^2 inches (255-315 mm.), tail 1 to lY^ inches (25-32 

 mm.), hind foot 2% to 3 inches (68-75 mm.), ear (from crown of head) 2i/^ to 3^^ 

 inches (65-80 mm.) ; weight 17i^ to 22 ounces (500-631 grams). Coloration dark brown 

 with heavy overwash of black ; general effect of coloration deep gray rather than brown ; 



