White-tailed Jackrabbit

The white-tailed jackrabbit is a large species of hare and is the largest species called "jackrabbit". This jackrabbit has an adult length of 22 to 26 inches (56 to 65 centimeters), including a tail measuring 2.6 to 4.0 in (6.6 to 10.2 cm), and a weight between 5.5 and 9.5 pounds (2.5 and 4.3 kilograms). From winter to spring, weight tends to increase in females due to pregnancy, but decrease in males due to the stresses of reproductive competition. Thus, females in Iowa went from averaging 7.9 lb (3,600 g) in winter to 8.4 lb (3,800 g) in spring and males from averaging 7.5 lb (3,400 g) in winter to 6.8 lb (3,100 g) in spring. At the northernmost extremity of its range, it can be almost twice as large as in the middle of its range. In Saskatchewan, rare specimens have been recorded over 20 lb (9 kg). It has distinctive large black-tipped grey ears that are chestnut brown and white on the inner surface, and the long, powerful hind legs characteristic of hares. The back, flanks and limbs are dark brown or greyish-brown and the underparts are pale grey. The ear, from the notch, measures from 3.9 to 4.4 in (10 to 11.3 cm) and the hindfoot measures 5.7 to 6.5 in (14.5 to 16.5 cm). The tail is white with a dark central stripe above. Females are slightly larger than males. In northern populations, this hare moults in the autumn and becomes white all over except for its ears. …

The white-tailed jackrabbit is native to western and central parts of North America. Its range includes British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario in Canada and Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois in the United States. It is found in plains and prairie and in alpine meadows with scattered coniferous trees up to an elevation of about 3,000 m (10,000 ft) in Colorado. The white-tailed jackrabbit is slightly larger than the black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus) and where their ranges overlap, they are segregated by their habitat, as the former tends to live in higher altitudes and the latter in more arid lowland habitats. Whitetails are often seen in urban parks and on suburban parks in Western Canada. People often come across bunnies alone during the day in spring and mistakenly assume they are abandoned by their mothers. The Edmonton Humane Society has issued public statements asking that bunnies not be brought into animal shelters.

The white-tailed jackrabbit is nocturnal and lies up during the day in a form, a shallow depression in the ground hidden under vegetation, emerging at dusk to feed. The forms of this species range from 46 to 61 cm (18 to 24 in) long, 20 to 30 cm (7.9 to 11.8 in) wide, and up to 20 cm (7.9 in) deep. Often, discernible paths lead away from the form and others among the plants at often-visited feeding sites. In winter snow, the forms are interconnecting, cave-like structures. This jackrabbit is a solitary species and feeds on grasses and other green plants, including cultivated crops. In southern Colorado, from summer through fall into winter, the diet varied from 70% (summer) to 4% (winter) forbs, 43% (fall) to 4% (winter) grasses and 76% (winter) to 7% (summer) scrubs. During the winter its diet includes buds, twigs and bark from low shrubs. It tends to be more selective in its feeding habits than the black-tailed jackrabbit, which puts the white-tailed at a disadvantage where their ranges overlap. It has good eyesight, excellent hearing, and sensitive whiskers, and is probably able to detect olfactory clues as to whether another jackrabbit is ready to breed. The breeding season is variable and depends upon latitude and environmental factors; it extends from February to July in different parts of the range. …