What is the maximal age a Eastern cottontail reaches?
An adult Eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) usually gets as old as 9 years.
Eastern cottontails are around 27 days in the womb of their mother. When born, they weight 34 grams (0.07 lbs) and measure 11.2 cm (0′ 5″). As a member of the Leporidae family (genus: Sylvilagus), a Eastern cottontail caries out around 4 little ones per pregnancy, which happens around 4 times a year. Fully grown, they reach a bodylength of 37.2 cm (1′ 3″).
As a reference: Usually, humans get as old as 100 years, with the average being around 75 years. After being carried in the belly of their mother for 280 days (40 weeks), they grow to an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) and weight in at 62 kg (137 lbs), which is obviously highly individual.
The eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) is a New World cottontail rabbit, a member of the family Leporidae. It is the most common rabbit species in North America.
Animals of the same family as a Eastern cottontail
Not really brothers and sisters, but from the same biological family (Leporidae):
- Granada hare with 1 babies per pregnancy
- Scrub hare with 1 babies per pregnancy
- Desert cottontail with 3 babies per pregnancy
- White-tailed jackrabbit becoming 8 years old
- European rabbit becoming 18 years old
- African savanna hare with 1 babies per pregnancy
- Chinese hare growing to a mass of 1.61 kgs (3.55 lbs)
- European hare becoming 12 years old
- Robust cottontail getting as big as 39.4 cm (1′ 4″)
- New England cottontail with 4 babies per pregnancy
Animals that reach the same age as Eastern cottontail
With an average age of 9 years, Eastern cottontail are in good companionship of the following animals:
- Plantain squirrel usually reaching 9.58 years
- Chinese ferret-badger usually reaching 10.5 years
- Golden hamster usually reaching 10 years
- Southern tree hyrax usually reaching 10 years
- Rufous hare-wallaby usually reaching 8 years
- Red acouchi usually reaching 10 years
- Rafinesque’s big-eared bat usually reaching 10.08 years
- Striped possum usually reaching 9.58 years
- White-tailed jackrabbit usually reaching 8 years
- Northern treeshrew usually reaching 10 years
Animals with the same number of babies Eastern cottontail
The same number of babies at once (4) are born by:
- Small five-toed jerboa
- Northern collared lemming
- Northern birch mouse
- Sandstone false antechinus
- Bushveld gerbil
- Kemp’s gerbil
- Lodgepole chipmunk
- Tarbagan marmot
- Bushveld gerbil
- Wolf
Weighting as much as Eastern cottontail
A fully grown Eastern cottontail reaches around 1.21 kg (2.67 lbs). So do these animals:
- Cream-coloured giant squirrel weighting 1.16 kilos (2.56 lbs) on average
- Big-eared opossum weighting 1.11 kilos (2.45 lbs) on average
- Black-headed night monkey weighting 1.06 kilos (2.34 lbs) on average
- Hershkovitz’s titi with 992 grams
- Servaline genet weighting 1.24 kilos (2.73 lbs) on average
- European polecat with 980 grams
- Clara’s echymipera weighting 1.2 kilos (2.65 lbs) on average
- Lesser grison weighting 1 kilos (2.2 lbs) on average
- Eastern lowland olingo weighting 1.24 kilos (2.73 lbs) on average
- Potto weighting 1.08 kilos (2.38 lbs) on average
Animals as big as a Eastern cottontail
Those animals grow as big as a Eastern cottontail:
- Brush rabbit with 30.4 cm (1′ 0″)
- Long-footed potoroo with 35.9 cm (1′ 3″)
- Clara’s echymipera with 34.1 cm (1′ 2″)
- Common kusimanse with 33.9 cm (1′ 2″)
- Eastern lesser bamboo lemur with 33.5 cm (1′ 2″)
- Mountain cuscus with 40.7 cm (1′ 5″)
- Western barred bandicoot with 30 cm (1′ 0″)
- Cozumel raccoon with 42.8 cm (1′ 5″)
- American hog-nosed skunk with 42.2 cm (1′ 5″)
- Western white-eared giant rat with 31 cm (1′ 1″)