Young will lay very still and attempt to remain hidden while the adult will flush and run to create a diversion. The cottontail is an important game species as approximately 15,000 California hunting licenses are issued each year. Cottontail rabbits can be an agricultural pest like their relative the jackrabbit. A group of rabbits can denude a small field of succulent shoots in one night. Normally they will not stray too far from cover, so only the field edges are most affected by them.
Cottontail are carriers of tularemia and relapsing fever.
Hunters should wear rubber gloves when skinning and dressing cottontails to prevent infection. Thoroughly cooking rabbit meat kills the germ, making it safe for human consumption. During a recent springtime outing I encountered about two dozen cottontails browsing in a local farmers field near the Kern River just after dark. The rabbits were very obvious as their eyes shown brightly in my headlights. They would crouch and attempt to hide until I got close enough and then they all made wild dashes for the nearby bushes.