Our next match in Round One of March Species Madness takes place in the Mammals’ bracket, as the Racoon (Procyon lotor) takes on the Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus), two species which have adapted well to urban environments, but still deserve their space in nature.
The Raccoon may have home-field advantage, here, being an unofficial mascot of Toronto and possibly southern Ontario. Affectionately termed “trash pandas” by some, and less so by others, they are expert scavengers and omnivores. Their original home is in deciduous and mixed forests, but the adaptability of this species has enabled it to spread out into mountainous areas and coastal marshes. While undeniably cute and social, this is still a wild creature, so give it its space when you see one. To learn more about the raccoon, check out its entry in Hinterland Who’s Who.
The Eastern Cottontail is also quite adaptable. This rabbit love of grassy areas and clearings makes it easy for it to make itself home in country fields, urban parks, and back yards. They use brush piles, stone walls with shrubs around them, and thickets in order to stay undercover, safe from predators. They don’t dig burrows. They can run at speeds of up to 30 km/h. For more information about the Eastern Cottontail, check out this page on National Geographic’s site.
So, who wins this round? The urban omnivore, or the rural herbivore? Is this a race between a (furry) “turtle” and a hare? Your votes determine who goes on to Round Two, so vote today, below!