Monthly Report -- September, 1 963 
Vo 1. 6, No. 9 
Page 3 
W. R. Edwards, D. A. Casteel 
5* Rabbit Management 
During March and April, 1963* a pellet census was conducted on the Bogota study 
area to obtain indices of cottontail abundance and use of various cover types and 
response to habitat manipulation on study areas approximately 160 acres in size. 
A total of 2,141 quadrats, each 2x2 feet in size, were counted in 28 different 
fields with 1,205 pellets found. A stratified random sampling design was used so 
that rabbit use could be estimated for individual fields. Estimates of cottontail 
use were obtained on three of the quarter-section units plus two additional fields 
of leased nesting cover. 
The first unit censused was 157 acres of intensively cultivated, rolling prai¬ 
rie having no weedy or brushy cover; all 103 acres of wheat stubble on this area 
had been mowed. This unit contained 10 acres of wheat stubble leased for nesting 
cover (red clover) for quails and prairie chickens in 1963* The second unit, 159 
acres, was also intensively farmed and contained little permanent cover other than 
two short, narrow fence rows and a small abandoned homestead. This area had a 
15-acre field of weedy red clover leased for nesting cover in 1961, 1962, and 1963; 
however, the field had been clipped in mid-summer each year. The third unit, 154 
acres, was also intensively farmed but it had a weedy fence row about a rod wide 
and 80 rods long. The third unit also contained a 40-acre field which included 13 
acres of standing timothy and 27 acres of weedy clover leased for nesting cover in 
1962 and 1963. 
On the basis of the preliminary evaluation (Table 2), it appeared that weedy, 
undipped stands of red clover were heavily utilized by cottontails during winter 
and contributed materially to the carrying capacity of the range unit. Clipped and 
harvested hay and pasture fields were little used by rabbits. Similarly, unclipped 
stubble fields were used much more extensively than were clipped stubble. 
Table 2. The estimated number of rabbit pellets on three 160-acre units of the 
Bogota Study Area, Jasper County, Illinois, in early April, 19^3- 
Unit 
Ac reage 
Estimated Number 
of Pellets 
1 
S. E. 
Sec. 22, Smallwood Twp. 
157 
42,000 
2 
N. E. £, 
Sec. 15> Wade Twp. 
159 
212,000 
3 
N. W. £, 
Sec. 27, Smallwood Twp. 
154 
3,210,000 
