amnhnyc:

🎃Headed to a pumpkin patch this weekend? Perhaps you’ll spot an eastern cottontail!

🐰These rabbits thrive in brambles bordering open fields, and they are fond of farms, gardens, and other green areas tended by people. The Eastern Cottontail Diorama in the Hall of North American Mammals features two rabbits on an October day in Ithaca, New York. They’re using their large eyes and pivoting ears to scan the surrounding pumpkin patch for danger. Startled cottontails will bolt for cover, showing the puffy white fur on the underside of their tails. The white flash seems to advertise that the speedy rabbits are off and running. For predators, it’s too late for a surprise attack. Some may give the cottontails up for lost and hunt for other prey. The Museum is open from 10 am–5:30 pm, so plan your weekend trip!

Photo: D. Finnin/ © AMNH

#animalfacts #nature #amnh #museums #rabbits #bunny #pumpkin #easterncottontail #fall (at American Museum of Natural History)
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