Tennessee’s varied landscapes—from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Mississippi River bottomlands—support three distinct rabbit species, each adapted to dramatically different environments.
While you’ve likely spotted a cottontail hopping through your yard or field edge, you might not realize that mountain forests and cypress swamps host their own specialized rabbit species.
Understanding which rabbits call different parts of the Volunteer State home helps you appreciate how these adaptable mammals thrive across Tennessee’s elevation changes and habitat diversity spanning nearly 500 miles from east to west.
1. Eastern Cottontail
The eastern cottontail, scientifically known as Sylvilagus floridanus, is Tennessee’s most abundant and widespread rabbit species. Found in every single county across the state, this grayish-brown bunny with its signature fluffy white tail has become so familiar that many Tennesseans don’t realize other rabbit species exist in their state. Adults typically measure 14 to 19 inches long and weigh between 2 to 3.3 pounds.
Recognizing Eastern Cottontails
You can identify eastern cottontails by their brown tail that flashes white underneath when they run—the feature that inspired their common name. They sport long ears measuring 2 to 3 inches, long powerful hind legs built for speed, and a reddish-brown to grayish-brown coat that provides excellent camouflage. One distinguishing feature is the orangish patch on their nape, which helps differentiate them from Appalachian cottontails, though this requires close observation.
Where You’ll Find Them
Eastern cottontails thrive in Tennessee’s farmlands, hedgerows, orchards, backyards, and particularly where shrubby forest borders meet open areas. They prefer the interface between cover and feeding grounds—exactly the mix found in suburban developments, abandoned fields, and the edges of cultivated areas. Unlike their more specialized relatives, eastern cottontails adapt remarkably well to human-dominated landscapes, persisting even in dense suburban neighborhoods where they hide under buildings, in shrubbery patches, and along fencerows.
Pro Tip: Eastern cottontails maintain overlapping home ranges of about 9 acres on average, with females typically dominant over males except during breeding season. If you see rabbits regularly in your yard, you’re likely watching the same individuals repeatedly rather than different rabbits passing through.
Diet and Daily Patterns
These herbivores feed primarily during early morning and evening hours, resting in shallow depressions called “forms” during midday. Approximately half their summer diet consists of grasses, supplemented by white and red clover, wild strawberries, and unfortunately for gardeners, vegetables. During winter months when green vegetation becomes scarce, they switch to eating bark and twigs from various woody plants.
Eastern cottontails breed prolifically to compensate for high predation rates. Breeding occurs year-round in Tennessee with peak activity from February through September. After a remarkably brief 28-day gestation, females give birth to litters averaging 4 to 8 young in fur-lined nests built in shallow ground depressions. Young rabbits reach independence at just 3 to 4 weeks old, and females can breed again immediately after giving birth, producing 3 to 4 litters annually.
Common Mistake: Many people who find rabbit nests in their yards assume the babies have been abandoned because the mother isn’t visible. Mother cottontails intentionally stay away from nests except for brief nursing visits to avoid attracting predators. If you find a nest, simply re-cover it and leave it alone—the mother will return.
2. Swamp Rabbit
The swamp rabbit (Sylvilagus aquaticus) represents Tennessee’s largest rabbit species and one that most residents have never encountered despite its presence across western Tennessee. This impressive rabbit weighs between 2.5 to 6 pounds—nearly twice the size of eastern cottontails—and measures 16 to 22 inches in length, earning it the nickname “cane-cutter” in hunting circles.
Physical Characteristics
Swamp rabbits possess distinctive features that set them apart from their smaller cottontail cousins. Their short, coarse fur displays a brownish-gray coloration with a yellowish hue, heavily mottled with black. The back of the neck shows a distinctive rust-colored patch, and the hind feet are rusty brown on top with notably large toenails adapted for their semi-aquatic lifestyle. Unlike eastern cottontails with their prominent white tails, swamp rabbits have white undersides except for the buffy gray chest, and their ears are shorter and more rounded.
Habitat and Distribution
As their name suggests, swamp rabbits are always found near water. In Tennessee, they occur primarily in West Tennessee counties west of Kentucky Lake and the Tennessee River, with some populations extending into parts of Middle Tennessee. Look for them in lowland swamps, wetlands, marshes, cypress swamps, and dense canebrakes along river bottoms and tributaries of the Mississippi River.
These semi-aquatic specialists have evolved remarkable swimming abilities. When threatened, swamp rabbits dash for the nearest water body, dive in, and remain submerged with only their noses visible above the surface. During floods when dry ground disappears, they sit on floating logs and trees waiting for waters to recede, swimming between logs to feed. Kayakers and canoeists can approach surprisingly close when swamp rabbits find themselves stranded on floating debris.
Feeding and Behavior
Swamp rabbits are primarily nocturnal, feeding almost entirely at night on sedges, grasses, aquatic plants, and herbs. Winter diet shifts to include more woody vegetation such as twigs, tree seedlings, and blackberry canes. Their feeding activity peaks during cooler months, making late fall through early spring the best time to observe them.
Key Insight: Swamp rabbits, like all cottontails, practice coprophagy—eating their own soft droppings during daytime to absorb unused nutrients that weren’t fully digested during the first pass through their digestive system.
Breeding mainly occurs from February through July, rarely extending into August and September. Females produce up to 5 litters annually, each averaging 3 to 4 young after a 38-day gestation period—longer than eastern cottontails. The young are born well-furred but blind, and mothers continue nursing them even after they leave the nest at 12 to 15 days old.
3. Appalachian Cottontail
The Appalachian cottontail (Sylvilagus obscurus) is Tennessee’s rarest and most elusive rabbit species, inhabiting the mountainous forests of eastern and middle Tennessee. This medium-sized rabbit weighs just 1.8 to 2.4 pounds and measures 15.2 to 17 inches long, making it slightly smaller than its eastern cottontail relative.
Identification Challenges
Appalachian cottontails look remarkably similar to eastern cottontails, making field identification nearly impossible without careful examination. Both species have grayish-brown to reddish upperparts contrasting with whitish fur underneath, along with the characteristic brown tail that’s white beneath. The tail flashes white when the rabbit runs, giving both species their “cottontail” name.
The most reliable way to tell them apart involves subtle differences that require close observation. Eastern cottontails have a more orangish nape patch and lighter brown iris color compared to Appalachian cottontails. However, these differences are so subtle that even wildlife biologists struggle to distinguish them in the field. Geographic location and habitat type serve as the best practical identification tools—if you’re in Tennessee’s higher elevation mountain forests, you’re more likely observing an Appalachian cottontail.
Mountain Habitat Preferences
Unlike eastern cottontails that thrive in open areas and suburban settings, Appalachian cottontails prefer dense, forested environments at higher elevations. They occur in the mountainous regions of eastern Tennessee and possibly extend onto portions of the Cumberland Plateau. These mountain specialists favor coniferous and mixed oak forests with plenty of understory cover, representing a marked contrast to the open field edges preferred by eastern cottontails.
The complete distribution of Appalachian cottontails in Tennessee remains poorly understood. Wildlife biologists know they inhabit the higher mountains of East Tennessee, but the exact extent of their range—particularly whether populations exist on the Cumberland Plateau—requires further research. This knowledge gap reflects both the species’ rarity and the difficulty of distinguishing them from eastern cottontails in the field.
Diet and Seasonal Adaptations
Appalachian cottontails consume more forbs (broad-leafed herbaceous plants) than grasses compared to eastern cottontails. Their diet includes a variety of woody plants during winter months, supplemented by fruits, buds, mushrooms, and seeds when available. This more forest-oriented diet reflects their preference for densely wooded habitats rather than open grasslands.
These mountain rabbits remain active year-round without hibernating, relying on their acute senses of smell, hearing, and sight to detect predators. During daylight hours, they shelter under logs or in burrows to avoid predation. Crepuscular activity patterns mean they’re most active around dusk and dawn—the same hours when many of their predators hunt.
Important Note: Appalachian cottontails are not listed for protection but are considered uncommon across most of their range. Habitat loss and fragmentation from development, along with forest maturation that reduces the brushy understory they need, threaten their populations throughout the eastern United States.
Breeding occurs from late winter through September, with females producing 3 to 4 litters averaging 4 to 8 young per year. The 26 to 28-day gestation period means does are often simultaneously nursing one litter while pregnant with the next by late May. Sexual maturity occurs quickly at 2 to 3 months, with approximately 25% of young born to juvenile mothers.
Conservation and Coexistence
All three Tennessee rabbit species face shared challenges from predators including owls, hawks, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, and domestic cats and dogs. Their survival strategy relies on prolific reproduction rates that offset naturally high mortality—most rabbits don’t survive beyond their first year in the wild.
Tennessee supports healthy rabbit populations overall, with hunting remaining a cherished tradition. The rabbit hunting season typically runs from early November through late February, with a daily bag limit of five rabbits.
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency notes that while collective rabbit numbers appear stable, localized populations may face habitat pressures requiring closer monitoring, particularly for swamp rabbits and Appalachian cottontails.
Whether you spot an eastern cottontail’s white tail flashing through your suburban yard, encounter a massive swamp rabbit swimming through West Tennessee wetlands, or glimpse an elusive Appalachian cottontail in mountain forests, you’re witnessing successful adaptation to Tennessee’s remarkably diverse landscapes.
By maintaining varied habitat types—from brushy field edges to forested hillsides to wetland corridors—Tennesseans ensure these three distinct rabbit species continue thriving across the Volunteer State’s mountains to swamps.
