Eastern Cottontail Scat and Tracks: How to Identify Them (Sylvilagus floridanus)

Rabbits and hares leave round, slightly flattened pellets of packed plant fiber, usually in scattered groups where they feed. Their bounding track pattern is distinctive: two long hind prints side by side ahead of two smaller front prints, one behind the other. Clean, angled cuts on twigs and bark at snow height are their feeding sign. The measurements below for Eastern Cottontail are quoted from the wildlife agencies linked at the bottom of the page.

• Size: Less than 0.5 inches in diameter
• Shape: Round balls, left in piles
• Contents/color: Dark in color

• Toes: 5 toes on the front foot, 4 toes on the hind foot
• Gait: While bounding, the hind footprints land side by side ahead of the front footprints, forming a 1-1-2 track pattern

• "Forms" (hollow resting nests) and scraping marks: Cottontails use concealed "forms" made of grass or weeds under vegetation, along with scraping marks
• Gnawing on woody plants: Survives the winter by gnawing bark, buds, and twigs

The Swamp Rabbit looks similar to the Cottontail but is larger with a darker, reddish-brown coat; hares in general are larger with longer ears

Put something of known size next to it (a coin, a pen, a boot) and shoot straight down in soft light; low side light brings out the shape of tracks in mud or snow. For scat, photograph the whole deposit and one close-up showing contents. Note where it was: on a log, in the open, on a trail, near water. The app suggests the likely animal; confirm with the size and shape notes above.