Creekbank Kennels

I've read several accounts of men saying their hounds are running the rabbit a "full circle and bringing it back". Of course, this is not the way it is. Actually, the wild rabbits instinct when jumped is to return to a familiar home territory. It is just bringing the hounds along for the ride. The hounds jump the rabbit and the hunt is on. If the rabbit chose to run in a straight line, the dogs would follow. But the rabbit prefers to circle to the edge of its familiar home range and then return to near the point of it being jumped. When pursued by fast hounds, the rabbit may have to leave its home range if cut off by the dogs or just to prevent capture. A favorite technique of the bunny is to hole up and hide to escape capture or even swim a creek if pushed too hard. Studies have shown that the home range of most cottontails is actually quite small, sometimes not ranging more than a quarter acre or so, just depending on available cover. The more open an area is, the larger the home range. The average life expectancy of a cottontail here in the midwest is about one year. Being so prolific, a female may have 2 to 4 litters each summer, consisting of 3 to 5 per litter. In southern areas of the country, cottontails may have 6 litters per year, but the litters usually contain fewer babies per litter. Soon after giving birth, the female will breed again. Here in our area, hawks and owls probably account for more rabbits demise than anything else. Also, foxes and coyotes eats their share, and young rabbits still in the nest are also sought out by raccoons, too.