THE ARCTIC HARE

By: Caitlyn Gorny and
Laura Oxtoby

The Arctic hare's Latin name is Lepus Arcticus and the snowshoe hare's Latin name is Lepus Americanus.

The Arctic hare is very big, well over a half meter tall when sitting. Instead of a plump, bunny- like body, Arctic hares have muscles that bulge beneath their skin. They are 18 to 25 inches long. Their average weight is 12 pounds.

The Arctic hares grow white winter coats with short bushy white tails and have well-developed claws that help them to dig through the snow for food. In the summer these big rabbits are dark colored and blend in with the tundra. They shed their summer coats in the winter.

Its movement is not like other rabbits. Instead of hopping, Arctic hares run with a strong, lopping gait. In the high Arctic, when these rabbits are alarmed they have been known to stand up right and bound away like kangaroos.

Arctic and snowshoe hares are almost the same kind of mammal. It is their characteristics that distinguish hares from rabbits. Their ears are usually longer than their head.

The Arctic hares don't have a permanent home. They usually tend to stay in one spot but occasionally move in groups to the far north. The Arctic hare roams above ground instead of burrowing,the Arctic hare wanders freely over the tundra throughout the year, often looking for high grounds in the winter to avoid deep snow.

The Arctic hare's home is in the north and snowshoe hares live in North America. The snowshoe hare lives in the mountain ranges of the Eastern and Western United States.

The Arctic hare eats grass, willow twigs, roots, berries when in season and other plants. Also they eat leaves from spruces, pines. When eating near the shore, they eat kelp and other seaweed washed up by the tide. When they are thirsty, the animals even eat snow.

Breeding seasons for the Arctic and the snowshoe hare are in the spring and are in the summer. When mating they bound, buck, and kick and stand on their hind legs to box with one another. Females begin breeding when they're one year old, about four babies that are born 36 to 42 days after mating. Two to four young are may be born each time. Female snowshoe hares give birth as many as four times a year.

The babies weigh 2 to 4 ounces at birth. The babies are born with their eyes wide open and they are born fully haired and advanced to hop about a few minutes after birth. Young hares are called Leverets. Each soon develops their own form and is visited by the doe to be suckled. The Arctic hare has many enemies. Its predators are the Arctic fox, the weasel, snowy owl, and the lynx. Because hares provide food and fur for people, they are often killed by hunters.