While on a boardwalk in Okefenokee National wildlife refuge, which is in South Georgia, my friend and I heard chewing noises. After waiting patiently, a tiny rabbit with short ears and small paws appeared out of the bush! It was a marsh rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris). Marsh rabbits are a species of rabbits that are adapted to live in wetlands. There is also a species called swamp rabbits (Sylvilagus aquaticus), but they the largest species of rabbit in the Southeast and weight between 4 and 6.5 pounds. The ranges of the two species do not entirely overlap which is how I figured out I had seen a marsh rabbit and not a swamp rabbit. You can see marsh rabbits in southeast Virginia, southern Georgia, eastern Alabama, and the Florida peninsula. The largest population is found in the Dismal Swamp. There is a subspecies, Lower Keys marsh rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris hefneri), which is found in south Florida. The subspecies has darker fur and has a different sized skull than the regular marsh rabbit. The subspecies is considered by IUCN to be critically endangered and is federally listed as endangered. Most of these rabbits can be found on Big Pine and Boca Chica keys. Because of its conservation status, there is more information available about the Lower Keys marsh rabbit.

 

 

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