June 27, 2010 - Freeze Tag

Welcome to the Nature Notebook.

The master of freeze tag is the eastern cottontail. These common wild rabbits are experts at “freezing” in place to avoid getting tagged. Rather than a game for them, it is a matter of survival. Cottontails “freeze” in place to stay alive. Sitting absolutely still with body hunkered low and ears laid back, a cottontail tries to avoid notice. Their brownish-gray coloration serves to camouflage them with their surroundings making them difficult to see. Although the freeze-in-place strategy works well in tall grass and dense brush, it is not as effective in the open. If an approaching animal continues to draw near, the rabbit bounds away in a zig-zag pattern to escape a potential predator. These rabbits can hop at an amazing 18 miles per hour. With luck they avoid a predator tagging them.

This is PPL's naturalist, Jon Beam, with the Nature Notebook for WVIA.