7 Types of Rabbits in Oregon: Complete Species Guide

Oregon’s diverse landscapes, from coastal valleys to high desert sagebrush plains, provide homes for seven distinct rabbit and hare species. Whether you’re exploring the Willamette Valley or hiking through eastern Oregon’s rangelands, you’ll encounter these fascinating mammals adapted to the state’s varied ecosystems.

Understanding the differences between these species enriches your outdoor experiences and helps you appreciate Oregon’s remarkable wildlife diversity.

Quick Reference: Oregon’s Rabbits at a Glance

Eastern Cottontail

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The Eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) holds the distinction of being Oregon’s largest cottontail and the only non-native rabbit species in the state. This adaptable rabbit arrived in Oregon through human introduction, first appearing in Benton County in 1937 and Linn County in 1941, when animals from Ohio and Illinois were released. From these initial sites, Eastern cottontails spread throughout the mid-Willamette Valley, with Portland-area populations potentially originating from Missouri stock introduced near Battle Ground, Washington in 1933.

Identification Features

Physical characteristics:

• Brownish dorsal coloring that darkens to almost black on the rump
• Lighter buffy-brown flanks
• Distinctive orangy-brown nape patch without black hairs
• White underside with gray-based hairs creating a splotched appearance
• Pure white tail extending to the base
• Head coloring matches the back

Did You Know? Eastern cottontails have interbred with native brush rabbits in some Oregon locations, creating hybrids that retain the brush rabbit’s smaller size while displaying the Eastern cottontail’s characteristic white tail.

Habitat & Behavior

You’ll find Eastern cottontails in the Willamette Valley’s agricultural edges, forest borders, and areas with brushy thickets near open foraging grounds. Their preferred habitat includes:

• Large blackberry clumps interlaced around white oak, ash, and black cottonwood trees
• Areas interspersed with grasses and forbs
• Forest edges with nearby shelter
• Suburban areas with adequate cover

These rabbits are crepuscular and nocturnal, becoming most active at dawn, dusk, and throughout the night. This interbreeding with native species demonstrates the Eastern cottontail’s adaptability and its integration into Oregon’s ecosystem since its introduction nearly 90 years ago.

Mountain Cottontail

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The Mountain cottontail (Sylvilagus nuttallii), also called Nuttall’s cottontail, thrives in Oregon’s rocky terrain east of the Cascade Range, with a western extension into Josephine County. This medium-sized rabbit sports light grayish-brown fur, a distinctive white tail, and relatively broad, rounded ears that help distinguish it from other cottontails.

Prime Habitat Characteristics

Location: Throughout eastern Oregon with Josephine County extension

Vegetation associations:

1. Big sagebrush communities
2. Bitterbrush stands
3. Rabbitbrush thickets
4. Western juniper woodlands
5. Mountain-mahogany areas

Rocky outcrops with nearby sagebrush vegetation characterize prime mountain cottontail habitat. They prefer areas with rocky cover, showing remarkable skill at navigating broken lava fields and boulder-strewn hillsides. Unlike many rabbits, mountain cottontails have been observed climbing juniper trees to access food sources.

Seasonal Diet Breakdown

As true herbivores, they practice coprophagy, consuming their food twice to extract maximum nutritional value from their plant-based diet.

Behavior Patterns

Mountain cottontails are crepuscular, feeding primarily at dawn and dusk near water sources and brush cover. When threatened, they demonstrate a distinctive three-stage defense pattern:

Stage 1: Run toward cover and freeze with erect ears to assess danger
Stage 2: Evaluate the threat while remaining motionless
Stage 3: Hop away in a semicircular path to confuse predators if further pursued

Communication Alert: Both sexes communicate by thumping their hind feet on the ground, producing surprisingly loud sounds audible from considerable distances. This behavior warns other rabbits of potential danger.

The breeding season extends from February through July, varying by location. Females construct shallow, cup-like nests lined with fur and dried grass, covering the top with fur, grass, and small sticks. Oregon populations average 4.7 young per litter, and females can produce multiple litters annually depending on environmental conditions.

Pygmy Rabbit

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Oregon’s Pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis) represents North America’s smallest rabbit species and faces significant conservation challenges. This diminutive rabbit, weighing less than one pound when fully grown, earned designation as an Oregon Conservation Strategy Species in the Northern Basin and Range ecoregion.

Geographic Range in Oregon

Pygmy rabbits inhabit areas east and south of a line connecting:

• Klamath Falls
• Fremont
• Redmond
• Baker City

Conservation Alert: The pygmy rabbit is classified as “sensitive-vulnerable” by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, meaning protective measures are needed to maintain sustainable populations over time.

Sagebrush Dependency

Their survival depends entirely on big sagebrush ecosystems, with a striking 90+ percent of their diet consisting of sagebrush throughout the year, supplemented by grasses during spring and summer. This specialized diet ties them inextricably to sagebrush habitats, making them true sagebrush obligates.

Physical characteristics:

• Weight: Less than 1 pound (smallest in North America)
• Ears: Short, rounded, covered with long silky hairs
• Tail: Small with wide buffy bands and narrow blackish tips
• Feet: Short, densely furred below with light orangy-buff coloring
• Overall color: Dull tan-gray for effective sagebrush camouflage

Unique Burrowing Behavior

The pygmy rabbit’s most remarkable characteristic is its burrowing behavior—it’s the only rabbit species in North America that digs its own burrows. These underground systems require specific soil conditions.

Habitat requirements:

• Minimum 20% brush cover (population won’t occupy areas below this)
• Optimal 40% brush cover
• Tall, dense clumps of basin big sagebrush (6+ feet tall)
• Deep, loose soil for digging
• Native grasses for summer forage

Winter Survival Strategy

During winter months when snow covers sagebrush, pygmy rabbits demonstrate remarkable adaptability by tunneling beneath the snow. These snow tunnels:

1. Extend from one sagebrush plant to another
2. Match the approximate dimensions of underground burrows
3. Create extensive tunnel networks
4. Restrict above-ground movement to tunnel systems only
5. Provide protection from predators and harsh weather

Conservation Challenges

Critical Threats: Habitat loss through agricultural conversion, wildfire frequency and intensity, and habitat fragmentation pose the greatest risks to pygmy rabbit populations.

Primary conservation concerns:

• Limited dispersal capabilities make populations vulnerable to isolation
• Roads and cleared areas fragment remaining habitat
• Agricultural conversion continues reducing sagebrush ecosystems
• Wildfires destroy habitat that takes 15-20 years to regenerate
• Small, isolated populations face genetic bottlenecks

The Washington population, known as the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit, faced near-extinction until captive breeding efforts by the Oregon Zoo and other institutions helped establish reintroduction populations. The last purebred Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit died in 2008, though cross-breeding with Idaho, Nevada, and Oregon rabbits continues supporting recovery efforts.

Brush Rabbit

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The Brush rabbit (Sylvilagus bachmani) inhabits western Oregon’s dense vegetation, rarely venturing more than a few meters from extremely thick brush. You’ll encounter this dark gray rabbit throughout the Willamette Valley and other interior valleys, in coastal areas, and in valleys along coastal streams from the Columbia River south, extending from the Cascade Range foothills westward.

Physical Description

Size and appearance:

• Length: Approximately 12 inches (11-14.5 inches range)
• Weight: Up to 2 pounds (1.1-2.0 lbs)
• Ears: Relatively small with slight point
• Fur: Dark brownish-gray with pale gray belly
• Tail: Inconspicuous, dark brown above, white underneath
• Legs: Short and compact

Brush rabbits rank among Oregon’s smaller rabbit species, and their compact size combined with secretive nature makes them challenging to observe without patience.

Habitat Requirements

Dense bramble clumps constitute the essential habitat component for brush rabbits. These specialized areas feature:

Vegetation types:

• Thick chaparral (primary preference)
• Himalayan blackberry thickets
• Snowberry stands
• Wild rose bushes
• Oak and conifer habitats

Structural features:

• Extensive networks of trails and runways
• Runways interlaced through brushy clumps
• Clear pathways to surrounding grassy foraging areas
• Quick escape routes to protective cover

Home Range: Brush rabbits maintain extremely small home ranges of less than 2,000 square meters (about half an acre), rarely leaving their preferred brushy areas.

Diet and Feeding

The brush rabbit’s diet centers on grasses and forbs, with particular preference for green clover.

Summer diet:

• Green clover (preferred)
• Fresh grasses
• Berries
• Forbs and wildflowers
• Shrub browse

Winter diet:

• Woody plant parts
• Bark from young trees
• Twigs
• Any available green plants (especially ground-hugging shrubs)

These rabbits are active year-round and primarily crepuscular, emerging after sunset and remaining active until early morning. They may emerge again a few hours after dawn until late morning but rarely appear in the afternoon.

Breeding and Reproduction

Breeding season in Oregon: February through August

Reproductive details:

1. Females typically produce 3 litters annually (occasionally 4)
2. Average litter size: 2.8 young in Oregon
3. Gestation period: Approximately 27 days
4. Nest type: Shallow, bowl-shaped ground nests
5. Nest materials: Grass, leaves, and belly fur lining

Maternal Behavior: After birth, mothers avoid the nest for two weeks, returning only at dawn and dusk to nurse their young—behavior that helps hide kits from predators.

Defense Strategies

When threatened, brush rabbits employ multiple tactics:

Predator avoidance techniques:

• Sitting perfectly still for extended periods
• Running in wild zigzag patterns at 15-20 mph
• Using underground or brush tunnels rather than crossing open ground
• Foot-thumping to warn other rabbits (surprisingly loud)
• Emitting high-pitch sounds when feeling threatened

Primary predators include: bobcats, cougars, domestic dogs and cats, coyotes, skunks, snakes, weasels, foxes, minks, hawks, and owls.

Hybrid Populations

Interestingly, brush rabbits in some Oregon areas have interbred with introduced Eastern cottontails, creating hybrids that maintain the brush rabbit’s smaller size while displaying the Eastern cottontail’s white tail. This genetic mixing demonstrates the ecological impacts of species introductions and the adaptability of both species.

White-Tailed Jackrabbit

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The White-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus townsendii) ranks among North America’s largest hares and demonstrates one of nature’s most dramatic seasonal transformations. In Oregon, this species occurs east and south of a line connecting Rufus, Maupin, Antelope, John Day, Juntura, Fields, Fort Rock, Fort Klamath, and Klamath Falls, primarily associated with bunchgrass habitats. The white-tailed jackrabbit earned designation as an Oregon Conservation Strategy Species in the Northern Basin and Range ecoregion.

Seasonal Appearance Changes

This seasonal color change results from the species undergoing two annual molts, with the white winter coat triggered by decreasing day length rather than actual snowfall. Occasionally, this leaves hares conspicuously white before snow arrives.

Habitat and Range

These large hares inhabit diverse environments across eastern Oregon:

Primary habitats:

• Open grasslands and bunchgrass prairies
• Sagebrush plains
• Coniferous forest edges
• Subalpine meadows
• Agricultural field margins

They rest during daylight hours in shallow depressions called forms—scraped 4 to 8 inches deep into the earth and usually located under plant cover. Elaborate, well-traveled trails connect these forms to frequently visited feeding sites, creating a network of pathways across their territory.

Diet and Foraging

Seasonal food preferences:

Warmer months (Spring-Fall):

• Grasses (primary component)
• Forbs (up to 70% in summer)
• Other green plants
• Cultivated crops when available

Winter months:

• Buds from low shrubs (up to 76% of diet)
• Twigs and bark
• Dormant vegetation
• Scrubs (minimal grass available)

Like all lagomorphs, white-tailed jackrabbits practice coprophagy, consuming their food twice to maximize nutrient extraction from plant materials.

Athletic Performance: White-tailed jackrabbits are exceptional athletes. They can travel using 12- to 20-foot leaps, maintain speeds of 35 miles per hour for extended periods, and reach 45 mph in short bursts—making them one of the fastest mammals in Oregon.

Behavior and Social Structure

These hares are predominantly nocturnal, emerging at dusk to feed and remaining active through the night. During daylight, they remain in their forms, relying on camouflage and immobility for protection.

Social patterns:

• Generally solitary outside breeding season
• Groups form during extreme winter conditions
• Aggregations occur where food is abundant
• Males compete aggressively during breeding

Defense Mechanisms

When threatened, white-tailed jackrabbits employ a multi-stage escape strategy:

1. Freeze in place, relying on camouflage
2. Assess the threat using excellent hearing and eyesight
3. Explode into motion with powerful hind legs
4. Zigzag at high speed to confuse predators
5. Outrun pursuers using superior speed and stamina

Predators include: coyotes, bobcats, foxes, golden eagles, hawks, owls, and occasionally humans.

Conservation Concerns

The species faces pressures that led to its Strategy Species designation:

• Agricultural conversion of native grasslands
• Shrub encroachment onto open grasslands and plains
• Habitat fragmentation reducing connectivity
• Climate change altering vegetation patterns

Despite these challenges, white-tailed jackrabbits maintain relatively stable populations across most of their Oregon range, though monitoring continues to track long-term trends.

Black-Tailed Jackrabbit

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The Black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus) thrives throughout much of Oregon, demonstrating remarkable habitat flexibility. West of the Cascade Range, you’ll find these hares only in the Rogue, Umpqua, and Willamette valleys. East of the Cascades, they occur throughout sagebrush regions, utilizing various habitats including open fields, desert areas with scattered sagebrush, agricultural lands, and even urban edges.

Physical Specifications

The distinctive black stripe running along the top of the tail provides the species’ common name. Long brown ears with black tips reach 6 to 7 inches in length—significantly longer than cottontail ears—and serve a crucial thermoregulatory function by radiating excess heat in hot environments.

Habitat Adaptations

Unlike rabbits that seek burrow shelter, black-tailed jackrabbits rest in shallow depressions called forms, scraped out in the shade beneath large shrubs or vegetation. They don’t dig burrows, instead relying on speed and camouflage for protection.

Habitat types utilized:

• Open sagebrush desert
• Grasslands and prairies
• Agricultural fields and margins
• Chaparral communities
• Urban and suburban edges
• Christmas tree plantations

Heat Management: In Oregon’s hot climates, the jackrabbit’s lankiness increases surface area per unit volume. Since heat radiates from the surface, those floppy ears and lanky build help keep them cool—a critical adaptation for desert survival.

Impressive Escape Performance

When flushed from cover, black-tailed jackrabbits demonstrate remarkable athletic ability:

Escape capabilities:

• Single bound: Up to 20 feet
• Top speed: 30-35 mph
• Running pattern: Erratic zigzag course
• Stamina: Can maintain high speed over distance
• Response time: Explosive acceleration from standstill

This combination of speed, agility, and endurance makes them challenging prey despite numerous predators.

Diet and Water Conservation

Their diet consists of a wide variety of green plants during summer months, shifting to dried and woody plants, including sage, during winter.

Feeding schedule: Primarily sunset to sunrise

Water efficiency:

• Obtains most water requirements from plants consumed
• Essential adaptation for surviving in arid environments
• Can survive extended periods without drinking
• Extracts moisture from vegetation efficiently

Communication and Defense

These hares are generally silent but emit high-pitched squeals when injured or caught.

Primary defense strategies:

1. Freezing behavior – Remain motionless to avoid detection
2. Cryptic coloration – Buff and black coloring blends with surroundings
3. Explosive speed – Launch into rapid escape when cover blown
4. Zigzag running – Erratic pattern makes them difficult to track
5. Endurance – Outlast predators in extended chases

Predator Relationships

Natural predators include:

• Coyotes (primary mammalian predator)
• Bobcats
• Foxes
• Golden eagles
• Red-tailed hawks
• Great horned owls
• Various other raptors and carnivores

Population Status: Black-tailed jackrabbits remain abundant throughout Oregon and face no closed hunting season, classified as an unprotected game species. Their populations fluctuate naturally, with numbers varying significantly between years.

Range and Abundance

In Oregon, black-tailed jackrabbits maintain stable, healthy populations across most of their range. The species demonstrates remarkable adaptability to human-modified landscapes, readily utilizing agricultural areas, maintaining presence even in suburban zones, and persisting despite habitat changes that challenge other species.

Geographic distribution in Oregon:

• West of Cascades: Rogue, Umpqua, and Willamette valleys only
• East of Cascades: Throughout sagebrush regions
• Elevation range: Sea level to moderate elevations
• Habitat diversity: Desert to agricultural to semi-urban

Snowshoe Hare

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The Snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) represents the smallest hare species in Oregon, named for its large feet that function like snowshoes in deep winter snow. This mountain-dwelling hare inhabits the state’s higher elevations, associated with dense thickets of young conifers, particularly those with lower branches touching the ground, especially firs and western larch interspersed with small clearings vegetated by grasses and forbs.

The Remarkable Color-Changing Coat

The snowshoe hare’s most remarkable feature is its seasonal color change—a dramatic transformation between brown summer pelage and pure white winter coats.

Timing Mismatch: This molt occurs in response to changing day length rather than actual snowfall, which occasionally leaves these hares conspicuously white before snow arrives—a vulnerability in a changing climate.

Geographic and Habitat Distribution

Elevation preferences: High mountains and dense forests

Regional variations:

• East of Cascade Range: Complete white winter transformation
• Within Cascade Range: Some populations transform completely
• Coast Range: May maintain brown coloring through winter

Habitat Requirements

Dense coniferous forests with appropriate brushy cover provide ideal snowshoe hare habitat.

Essential habitat components:

1. Dense young conifer thickets
2. Trees with lower branches touching ground
3. Fir and western larch stands
4. Small clearings with grasses and forbs
5. Riparian vegetation along streams
6. Salal thickets (western Oregon)
7. Year-round protective cover

These hares require areas where they can quickly access protective cover, as they rely on both concealment and evasive running patterns for predator escape.

Seasonal Diet Changes

This seasonal shift demonstrates the species’ adaptability to harsh mountain environments where food availability varies dramatically throughout the year.

Movement and Track Patterns

Unlike jackrabbits’ long, flat-footed strides, snowshoe hares move in distinctively long hops.

Track characteristics:

• Splayed shape much larger than cottontail tracks
• Large hind feet create distinctive snowshoe-like impressions
• Hops rather than runs
• Tracks show powerful hind leg propulsion

Adaptation Excellence: The large feet that give snowshoe hares their name provide traction in snow that lighter predators struggle to match, turning their winter environment into a survival advantage.

Activity Patterns and Behavior

Activity times:

• Evening hours (primary activity period)
• Throughout the night
• Early morning hours
• Daytime: Rest in forms or beneath dense cover

Defense sequence when threatened:

1. Freeze initially (rely on camouflage)
2. Assess threat while motionless
3. Flee using powerful hind legs if necessary
4. Navigate through dense vegetation
5. Leap over obstacles other animals must go around
6. Use large feet for superior snow traction

Predator Relationships

Primary predators:

• Martens (specialized snowshoe hare hunters)
• Fishers
• Bobcats
• Coyotes
• Foxes
• Great horned owls
• Northern goshawks
• Red-tailed hawks

Population Cycles: Snowshoe hare populations fluctuate in regular cycles, influenced by predation pressure, food availability, and environmental conditions. These cycles can span 8-11 years and affect predator populations as well.

Human Interactions

Hunting access: Limited due to challenging terrain

Few hunters pursue snowshoe hares in Oregon because:

• High-elevation habitats are difficult to reach
• Winter access challenges compound during prime season
• Deep snow makes travel difficult
• Remote locations require specialized equipment

The species maintains healthy populations across its Oregon range despite predation pressure, with their high-elevation habitats providing refuge from many human disturbances that affect lower-elevation species.

Conservation Status

Snowshoe hares currently face no significant conservation concerns in Oregon. Their populations remain robust across suitable habitat, though climate change could impact their seasonal coat-change timing and snow-cover reliability in future decades. The species serves as an important prey base for numerous predators and plays a crucial role in mountain forest ecosystems.

Species Comparison Summary

Understanding the key differences between Oregon’s seven rabbit and hare species helps you identify what you encounter in the wild.

Key Identification Tips

Quick field identification guide:

1. Size matters: Pygmy rabbits fit in your hand; jackrabbits and hares are notably large
2. Check the tail: White all over = white-tailed jackrabbit; black stripe = black-tailed jackrabbit; pure white underneath = Eastern cottontail
3. Location gives clues: West of Cascades? Likely brush or Eastern cottontail. Sagebrush country? Could be pygmy, mountain cottontail, or jackrabbits
4. Season counts: White in winter? Only white-tailed jackrabbit or snowshoe hare change color
5. Behavior speaks: Burrows in sagebrush = pygmy rabbit (only burrowing species); stays in dense brush = brush rabbit

Conservation Awareness

Species needing special attention:

• Pygmy Rabbit: Habitat loss and fragmentation threaten populations
• White-tailed Jackrabbit: Grassland conversion reduces suitable habitat
• Brush Rabbit: Generally stable but habitat quality matters

What You Can Do: Support sagebrush ecosystem conservation, avoid disturbing rabbit habitat during breeding seasons (spring/summer), report unusual sightings to Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and maintain natural vegetation buffers on private land.

Oregon’s seven rabbit and hare species each occupy unique ecological niches, from the tiny pygmy rabbit dependent on sagebrush ecosystems to the athletic white-tailed jackrabbit racing across grasslands.

Whether you encounter the introduced Eastern cottontail in the Willamette Valley, spot a brush rabbit darting through coastal thickets, or glimpse a snowshoe hare in mountain forests, each species contributes to Oregon’s biodiversity.

Understanding these remarkable mammals enhances your appreciation for Oregon’s varied landscapes and the specialized adaptations that enable different species to thrive across the state’s diverse habitats.

From the burrowing behavior unique to pygmy rabbits to the seasonal transformations of white-tailed jackrabbits and snowshoe hares, each species tells a story of survival and adaptation in the Pacific Northwest.