Eastern cottontail

Rabbits don't lay down in that position unless they are relaxed. That is a typical position for a rabbit to cool down (my rabbits do that a lot in the summer). Rabbits have a lot of blood vessels in their ears and use them for temperature control since they can't sweat like we do. A rabbit that is trying to avoid being seen by a predator and is "freezing" would be huddled up in a ball, usually with ears flattened against the body to appear less conspicuous. A relaxed rabbit will often flop down to rest with feet stretched out. That usually indicates a very chill bunny! If the rabbit was scampering (as you say). It could have been playing. They will run around willy nilly sometimes. It's good practice for predator evasion and keeping muscles strong, as well. Domestic rabbits do this too (some folks in pet rabbit circles call it binkying or dancing). I would imagine if this rabbit was running in evasion of a predator, it wouldn't have sprawled out on the trail in the open. They tend to run for cover of brush and freeze. Though Cottontails are a different Genus than domestic rabbits (descended from the European Wild Rabbit), they share many of the same habits and behaviors.

Yes, this is a great discussion. Animal behavior is so fascinating and we have so much to learn!

I was thinking the same thing about the ears. Good thought on listening for "predator." I also read about the cooling behavior, but drpalombella mentioned it "threw itself flat on the ground." Perhaps we do have one confused rabbit..I agree that it seems like a combination of behaviors as a reaction to the situation. Rabbits seem to stress easily.

If this was a defense behavior, I suspect the ears would be laid back across the body to make the animal less conspicuous. It's hard to say what this rabbit is doing, but I've seen other animals sprawl like this in the dirt to cool themselves by making full body contact with the soil. The ears in the upward position might be simply to keep track of you. In any event, this may be a combination of behaviors rolled into this particular situation. Was it a warm day by any chance?

Interesting behavior. I have seen many freeze from a sitting position, or even half standing, but never lying flat on the ground. The only assumption I could make is the coloration of the rabbit is the same as the ground, so by lying flat and very still, it may make it less visible to predators in the air, such as a hawk.

I love it when rabbits do that! Once, I was walking on a trail, and I saw about 4 baby bunnies! They let me get within 10 feet of them! I didn't get any good pics though.