Editing Cottontail rabbit (section)

== Lifespan ==

The lifespan of a cottontail averages about two years, depending on the location. Almost every living [[carnivorous]] creature comparable to or larger in size than these [[lagomorph]]s is a potential predator, including such diverse creatures as domestic dogs, cats, humans, [[snakes]], [[coyotes]], [[mountain lions]], [[foxes]], and if the cottontail is showing signs of illness, even [[squirrel]]s. The cottontail's most frequent predators are various [[birds of prey]]. Cottontails can also be parasitized by botfly species including ''[[Cuterebra fontinella]]''.<ref>
{{cite journal |vauthors=Jennison CA, Rodas LR, Barrett GW |title=''Cuterebra fontinella'' parasitism on ''Peromyscus leucopus'' and ''Ochrotomys nuttalli''.|journal=Southeastern Naturalist |volume=5 |issue=1|pages=157–168 |year=2006|doi=10.1656/1528-7092(2006)5[157:CFPOPL]2.0.CO;2}}</ref> Newborn cottontails are particularly vulnerable to these attacks. Cottontails use burrows vacated by other animals, and the burrows are used for long enough periods that predators can learn where the cottontails reside and repeatedly return to prey on them. Though cottontails are prolific animals that can have multiple litters in a year, few of the resulting offspring survive to adulthood. Those that do survive grow very quickly and are full grown adults at three months.<ref>{{cite web |title=''Sylvilagus floridanus'' |url=http://www.psu.edu/dept/nkbiology/naturetrail/speciespages/cottontail.htm |access-date=28 June 2017}}</ref>