Telling a wild rabbit’s sex by sight is genuinely hard, because males and females look almost the same. Most of the time, the honest answer is a good guess rather than a certainty. In spring, though, rabbits often show you themselves, through who chases whom and a few telltale traits. The one definite check requires catching the rabbit, which is rarely worth the stress to the animal.
Why Male and Female Rabbits Look So Alike
Males are called bucks and females does. The rabbit in most North American yards is the cottontail, named for its white, fluffy tail. In many animals the sexes look strikingly different, but rabbits mostly don’t.1A-Z Animals. Male vs. Female Rabbits: 3 Key Differences Apart from the genitals, there are few or no reliable outward differences.2coziwow. Key Distinctions between Male and Female Rabbits: Which is Better?
Size is the one difference that leans a direction. In most cottontail species, females are slightly larger than males.3Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. The evolution of sexual size dimorphism in cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus, Leporidae) How big the gap is, and which sex is larger, varies between species, and in larger species the gap shrinks.4Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. The evolution of sexual size dimorphism in cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus, Leporidae) In wild rabbits generally, females tend to be heavier, but the weights overlap heavily.5A-Z Animals. Male vs. Female Rabbits: 3 Key Differences Females have a wider pelvis, but you can’t see that on a living rabbit under its fur.6PubMed Central. A Three-Dimensional Reconstructive Study of Pelvic Cavity in the New Zealand Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus
People make a few common mistakes when guessing from looks. Head shape or “blockiness” is often cited for pet breeds, but it isn’t dependable in wild cottontails. Fur color and markings don’t differ between the sexes either. A doe late in spring may look round in the belly because she is pregnant, and that is a real clue.
A rabbit’s build can mislead you in other ways. Crouched, it looks small; stretched out or upright, it looks larger. Young rabbits born earlier in the season are larger than those born later, so a big rabbit may simply be older, not female. The most useful comparison is two rabbits seen together at the same time and distance, but treat even that as a weak hint.
The Dewlap Clue Under the Chin
A dewlap is a fatty flap of skin under the chin.7Rabbit Care Tips. Why Do Rabbits Have a Dewlap? It depends on female hormones from the ovaries and is normally a trait of adult females.8Experimental Biology and Medicine. Relationship Between Female Sex Hormone and Dewlap in the Rabbit Young rabbits of either sex haven’t developed one yet.
About half of adult females have a prominent dewlap, compared with only about 7 in 100 adult males.9Experimental Biology and Medicine. Relationship Between Female Sex Hormone and Dewlap in the Rabbit In males that have one, it is usually too small to see from the side.10Experimental Biology and Medicine. Relationship Between Female Sex Hormone and Dewlap in the Rabbit A large, obvious chin fold points strongly to a female, but having no fold tells you little, since half of does lack one. Those figures come from European rabbits kept for breeding, not wild cottontails, so treat the chin fold as a hint, not a rule.
To look for it from a distance, watch when the rabbit sits upright or grooms, because the chin area is easiest to see then. A chin fold looks like a soft roll or double chin below the jaw. Binoculars from a window let you check without disturbing the animal. A heavy winter coat can make a fold harder to judge.
Other things can pass for one. A rabbit that has just been eating or grooming can have a bulge around the mouth or chin from food or damp fur. A true chin fold stays put as a soft roll beneath the jaw when the rabbit changes position.
Behavior That Gives a Rabbit Away
In the wild, males chase females as part of courtship.11Small Pet Select Blogs. rabbit bonding: bunny courtship has specific rules and behaviors In cottontails, the female eventually turns, rears up on her hind legs and boxes the male on the ears and face.12Welcome Wildlife. All about Cottontail Rabbits Then the pair sit face to face, and the male leaps up as high as 15 feet (4.57 m) and spins while she runs beneath him.13Welcome Wildlife. All about Cottontail Rabbits They swap roles and repeat the jump-and-run until they mate.14Welcome Wildlife. All about Cottontail Rabbits So in a spring chase, the rabbit doing the pursuing is likely the buck. If a rabbit with a large fold also turns to box a pursuer, the two clues support each other.
Cottontails breed from late winter through summer, so chases peak in spring. Dusk and dawn are when rabbits are most active, so that’s when to watch. Two bucks may also chase each other, so one chase isn’t proof.
Because the pair swap roles during the jump-and-run, watch the whole sequence from the start instead of deciding from one moment when the pursuer is running away. A chase that ends with a rabbit driven off, and no jumping or boxing, may be a territorial dispute rather than courtship. A rabbit that keeps pursuing, circling and following another closely is a stronger sign of a buck than one that runs once.
Scent marking tells you less. Rabbits rub their chins on objects to leave scent from glands there, and both sexes do it.15PubMed. Chin-marking behavior in male and female New Zealand rabbits: onset, development, and activation by steroids So seeing a rabbit chin-rub a fence post doesn’t reveal its sex.16PubMed. Individual and Sex Differences in the Chemical Composition of Pheromone-Like Substances from the Skin Glands of the Rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus
Nesting is a sign of a doe, because only females dig shallow nests and line them with fur pulled from their bellies. She digs a hollow in the lawn or garden and covers it with grass and fur, so a small patch of disturbed, fur-lined ground in spring suggests one is nearby. A rabbit that visits one spot of lawn briefly at dawn or dusk may be a mother nursing, though that is one clue among several. Never dig in or poke at a patch you think is a nest, since you can wreck the cover that hides the babies.
17PubMed. Photoperiodic regulation of seasonal testicular regression in the wild European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)The Only Sure Check and Why to Skip It
Sex is confirmed by gently pressing the skin on either side of the genital opening. A rounded tube appears in males and a slit in females. Adult males have testes, which may be visible in breeding season. Body signs are clearest during breeding season and fade in autumn and winter.18Journal of Zoology. Seasonal changes in condition, reproduction and fecundity in the wild European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) A doe ready to breed has a swollen, pink-purple or reddish-purple vulva.19LafeberVet. Rabbit Reproduction Basics In young rabbits the difference is subtle, and even experienced people get it wrong. In young rabbits the testes haven’t descended, so males can look female, and rehabbers often re-check sex as the rabbit grows. In practice the rabbit has to be held firmly on its back or in another secure position, which a wild rabbit experiences as being caught by a predator.
Wild rabbits can panic when caught, and the stress can seriously harm or even kill them. They may collapse or die later even if they seem unhurt after release. A rabbit that breaks free in your hands can hurt its spine with a hard kick. They can also scratch hard and may carry fleas and ticks, which can move onto you or your pets.
Rehabilitators do sex rabbits during care, with proper training, and vets check during treatment of an injured animal. If you’re curious about an injured rabbit, ask the rehabber rather than checking yourself.
Many US states require a license to keep or handle wild rabbits.
What to Do If You Find a Baby Rabbit
A mother cottontail returns to feed her young only briefly, usually at dawn and dusk. A nest with no adult around is usually not abandoned, since her scent and movement could draw predators. Babies leave the nest at about 3 weeks, and a fully furred young rabbit with open eyes and upright ears, hopping around the size of a fist or larger, is independent and doesn’t need rescuing. Babies still in the nest are small, their eyes may be closed or just open, and they are snuggled together under fur and grass.
The baby’s sex changes nothing about how it should be treated. What matters is whether it is healthy, warm and still being fed by its mother.
To check whether the mother is coming back, lay a few strands of grass or string in an X over the nest and look 24 hours later. Lay them gently, and put the nest cover back as you found it so the mother isn’t put off. If the strands have been moved and the babies look plump with rounded bellies, the mother has been feeding them and you should leave things alone. If the strands are undisturbed and the babies seem thin, cold or weak, call a wildlife rehabilitator. Call too if a baby is cold, injured, covered in flies, or was caught by a cat, since cat saliva can cause serious infection even if it looks unhurt.
Touching a baby won’t make the mother reject it, but it raises the baby’s stress. Giving cow’s milk or water can kill a baby rabbit. Keeping a “rescued” baby overnight before calling for help lowers its chances.
If you must pick up an injured baby, handle it as little as possible and place it in a covered box with soft cloth, warm and quiet, away from pets and children. Feed it nothing, and call a rehabilitator promptly.
To protect a nest in your yard, keep dogs and cats away from the area for the few weeks the babies need. Mow around the nest, or place a laundry basket over the nest while mowing, then remove it so the mother can get back in.
Telling Individual Yard Rabbits Apart
Ear nicks, scars and the shape of the white forehead spot often differ between cottontails. Photos taken over several days can help you recognize regulars. Photograph the ears and forehead from the front and side in good light, since marks show most clearly there. Note the place and time of day of each sighting, because a rabbit seen at the same spot at the same time most days is probably the same animal. Keep a short note of each recognizable rabbit’s marks and what it did.
Marks aren’t always enough. Scars and nicks can heal or grow over, so a mark that helped in spring may be less obvious by autumn. Young rabbits grow quickly and their features change, so one that looks different after a few weeks may be the same animal. Several matching clues together make a far better guess than any single one, but it stays a guess, so describe it that way in your notes.