They live in underground tunnels. When caught outside their tunnels, they climb trees to elude predators. Like all members of this family, they face heavy predation from canines and felines. The two local members of this family are the eastern cottontail and the New England cottontail. Eastern cottontails hide in tall grasses to avoid detection.
Sightings are more common in mowed areas.
The New England cottontails only live in the higher elevations. The wild hog is the only Suidae present. They are not native and damage Park's ecosystems. Eurpoean Wild Boars came to the southern Appalachians in the early 1900s as sport for hunters. They overran their fenced enclosure near Hoopers Bald, North Carolina, and quickly spread throughout the region.