Personally, I'm a Bugs Bunny fan because his wise-cracking antics always top Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam.

Marty says, "The cottontail is perhaps the most popular character in American folklore, but bedtime stories hardly reflect the daily struggle of real-life rabbits. "

While cuddly and lovable rabbits are among the most common of all mammals who inhabit every continent in the world except Antarctica, all others with a taste for tender and delicious meat hunt them for food. Some eternal enemies include owls, coyotes, snakes, alligators, foxes and humans. On the other hand, cottontails feast on plants. But many years ago, because of their abundance, the 'bunnies' almost ate Australia.

With so many critters after them constantly through time, one has to wonder how cottontails have continued to exist at all in nature's beautiful but usually brutal world of survival.

"Their secret weapon is numbers, " Marty says. "By the end of February, an adult female cottontail will bring a litter of young into the world...the first of as many as seven litters she will bear in one year.

"One cottontail pair, plus offspring, if they all survive to reproduce, would number 300, 000 in only five years, but less than half survive before leaving the nest."

About two weeks after birth, youngsters leave the nest to explore an exciting new world beyond the reasonably safe threshold of home. It becomes a madcap dash for survival. Finding food is relatively easy because they'll eat just about any kind of plant, but the bunnies are vulnerable to attack from predators. Unfortunately, their distinctive fluffs of white tails stand out like brilliant spots of dinner on the run for hungry, lethal dive-bombers above.

Under attack, however, bunnies have the ability to zip to and fro, and white tails fade to the normal color of bodies which enables them to blend with the terrain...maybe stay alive.

Besides eating, reproduction is a goal of all rabbits, and males fight for the attention of females during spring. Facing each other and standing on powerful hind legs, the brave gladiators spar and 'box' with their front legs until knockout blows can be delivered by kicks from below. Winners become welcome lovers of demure females. New life begins again.

The average life-span of a cottontail is approximately nine months. We are most fortunate to enjoy their contribution over and over as bunnies share a beautiful wilderness with us.

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