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Swamp rabbit forages in Gilmer

Mirror Photo

THE SWAMP RABBIT resembles the better-known eastern cottontail but is appreciably larger and darker in coloration. This one in Gilmer was foraging as the day came to an end Saturday evening. This type of rabbit prefers tangled marsh vegetation and briar bushes as well as dense thickets of shrubs, trees and vines bordering floodplains of rivers and creeks. It has a definite affinity for water and is known to swim across creeks or ponds, frequently diving under water or hiding with just its nose breaking the surface. (Information gleaned from Texas Mammals East of the Balcones Fault Zone by David J. Schmidly.)