Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park dominates Florida’s marsh rabbit record with 269 named sightings, more than six times every other site on the list combined, a reflection of the wet prairie habitat this rabbit needs: dense marsh grass and standing water it will swim through to escape a predator, unlike the drier ground the more common eastern cottontail favors. Merritt Island, “Ding” Darling, and St. Marks extend the pattern to both coasts.
Records build to an April peak, more than five times the November low, tracking spring breeding activity when rabbits are most visible moving between feeding and denning cover. Florida is also home to the Lower Keys marsh rabbit, an endangered subspecies restricted to marshes in the Lower Florida Keys, genuinely distinct from the widespread mainland population NatureServe leaves unranked (SNR) statewide.
