Mainers asked to report rabbit sightings to help protect endangered New England cottontail

Mainers, if you see a rabbit that might be a New England cottontail or an Eastern cottontail (a non-native species that resembles NEC), Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife wants to hear about it.

The New England cottontail (NEC) is Maine’s only native true rabbit, and was once common in southern Maine. However, NEC populations have declined dramatically in Maine and across their entire range due to habitat loss, according to MDIFW, in a news release. Today, NEC are known to occur in just 7 towns: Cape Elizabeth, Scarborough, Wells, York, Kittery, Eliot, and Kennebunk; with a statewide population of less than 400 individuals.

“MDIFW is working with partners to restore Maine’s NEC, but we need more eyes in southern and coastal Maine!” said the release.

MDIFW will conduct surveys in the vicinity of credible NEC sightings to search for currently unknown populations.

“Any new confirmations of the species will greatly enhance our restoration effort by allowing us to protect the population and provide additional opportunities for us to conduct habitat management that will ultimately increase Maine’s NEC population,” said MDIFW. 

Please take a photo to submit when possible, take note of the following, and report your sighting online:

• Date
• Time
• Location/Town
• Habitat Description
• Identifying Characteristics- Please do not report known snowshoe hares. Did you observe any features that support identification as an NEC? Find identification tips below. 

New England cottontails at a glance

New England cottontails are medium-sized rabbits (14-17 inches long) and weigh in at 1-2.5 pounds. They have dark brown fur with a wash of black-tipped fur, a black edge to their ears. They also have a black spot between their ears though this characteristic is typically not visible from a distance.

Hares are white in winter, but rabbits are brown year-round

It can be surprisingly tricky to distinguish NEC and snowshoe hares during most of the year but identification becomes much simpler in winter! The snowshoe hare goes through a costume change for the snowy months, turning white while NEC retain a brown coat all year. We only need reports of potential NEC so this winter remember to write it down if it’s brown and just enjoy the sight if its white!

Non-native look-alikes

Until recently, Maine was the only state in the northeast that did not have eastern cottontails, a non-native rabbit which is nearly indistinguishable from the NEC. Reporting all brown rabbits in winter not only helps locate new undocumented populations of NEC, it also may help identify areas of eastern cottontail expansion which pose a threat to the recovery of Maine’s only native rabbit. 

Click here for more information.