Rabbit

A visit to the Hempstead Plains reserve on the Nassau Community College campus gave me a chance to explore. While only 19 acres in size, smaller than most open space habitats, this place is special. It is a tiny left-over from the original 60,000 acre ecosystem. I put on my blinders and fastened my earplugs, stepped off the beaten path and began an aimless walk to see what I could see.

Since the seventeen hundreds, the habitat has shrunken, become infested with nonnative plants, and paved over. The Friends of the Hempstead Plains is trying to restore what is left, a major undertaking. It is slowly beginning to look like plains again. However, with every other step I took, I found a plant that wasn’t here three hundred years ago. Removing the invasive plants and encouraging the natives is the ongoing task.

As I scanned the landscape, I saw a dark spot on the ground. It was a hole surrounded by grass large enough to put my hand into. I knelt and investigated. There was animal hair stuck to grass at the entrance. Inside, there was hair on the floor. I used my hand to determine the extent of the hollow. I was surprised. The midpoint of my forearm suggested that it was at least a foot long.

I picked off the fur. It felt very soft and looked like rabbit fur. I’m thinking this was an Eastern Cottontail Rabbit nest. Female rabbits remove belly hair to allow their young to suckle. The den was carefully made. The adult found a location where they could shape a large tuft of dead grass into a protective and safe lair for its young. Although the space was small, I estimate that four or five young could have been raised here.

I suspect that this den is recent. The young may have weaned and left the area just days ago. Although most of the area is open, there is brushy area for cover. Grass shoots are sprouting, just in time for a few more rabbits.

Since this was a first for me, I took a photograph.