FAMILY OF HARES AND RABBITS 



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The family LeporidcB is technically described as rodents of good size, robust body; 

 hind limbs longer than the fore limbs; tail very short; wing-shaped postorbital processes; 

 teeth more numerous than in any other family of rodents; incisors large, upper ones grooved; 

 molars rootless; facial surface of maxilla perforated; clavicles imperfect. Specific differences 

 between the Hares and the Rabbits have already been mentioned. 



ARCTIC HARE 

 Lepus arcticus Ross 



General Description. — A very large Hare turning 

 white in winter, and living in Arctic America. Similar 

 to the Varying Hare, but much larger and heavier. 

 Head and ears large ; body heavy ; tail short ; legs long ; 

 hind legs longer than fore legs ; pelage long and thick, 

 very soft to the touch ; in summer white mixed with 

 brown and gray : in winter pure white. 



Dental Formula. — Incisors, ^^ ; Canines, ^^ ; Pre- 

 molars, ^"^^ ; Molars, ti=28. 



' 2—2 ' 3—3 



Pelage. — Adults: Sexes identical. Summer. Every- 

 where white, mixed sparingly with brown and gray, the 

 long hairs black pointed ; face and ears, tawny-gray with 

 black hairs on tips of ears ; the white hairs are white 

 throughout their entire length or white to the base. 

 Winter. Pure white. 



Measurements. — Total length, 26.5 inches ; tail verte- 

 brae, 2.5 inches ; hind foot, 6 inches ; ear, 4.7 inches. 

 Weight, 10 to 12 pounds. 



Range. — Baffin Land, extreme north coast of Hudson 

 Bay, south through Ungava to Great Whale River on 

 east shore of Hudson Bay, and Labrador north of 

 Hamilton Inlet. 



Food. — Green vegetation and bark of willows. 



Remarks.— The Hares of the Arctic group are 

 the largest of the North American Hares. Some of the 

 Jack Rabbits, or Prairie Hares, measure almost as much 

 as the Arctic Hares, but the latter are much heavier. 

 Six species and subspecies belong to this group, all 

 quite similar in general appearance, but varying a little 

 in color, size and cranial characters. 



Related Species 



Arctic Hare. — I.cpus arcticus arcticu.'; Ross. Typical 

 animal as described above. Baffin Land, northern and 

 northeastern Hudson Bay region, Ungava and Labrador. 



Newfoundland Hare. — Lepus arcticus bangsii 

 Rhoads. Grizzled gray in summer. Newfoundland 

 and adjacent parts of Labrador. 



Greenland Hare. — Lepus groenlandicus Rhoads. 

 White suffused with tawny in summer. Northern 

 Greenland and Ellesmere Land. 



Alaska Arctic Hare. — Lepus oihus Merriam. 

 Size largest of the Arctic Hares. In winter every- 

 where white except ears which are black tipped. Tun- 

 dras of northern and northwestern Alaska. 



The Arctic Hares live in the frozen wastes of 

 the Far North. Throughout most of their range 

 they summer north of the tree limit, but in winter 

 sometimes penetrate a hundred miles or more 

 into the northern border of the timber. All the 

 species have two annual molts, and. save for the 

 tips of the ears, are pure white in winter. The 

 summer pelage is usually gray or brown. The 

 Arctic Hare swims freely across the small 

 streams which in spring traverse the Arctic bar- 

 rens in all directions. This handsome animal is 

 the main diet of many larger beasts of prey ; and 

 -has often saved the life of man himself. The 

 Indians and trappers in the Far North have for 

 years depended on it for food on many a forced 

 march. At the same time it is not always easy 

 to capture. Its white coat enables it to rest 

 serenely in its " form," often unseen by the 

 searching eye of owl or gyrfalcon, while its speed 

 enables it to show a clean pair of heels to its 



pursuers in many a chase by the Blue Fox, 

 Wolverene, Lynx or Gray \\o\i. It feeds 

 mainly on lichens and stoneworts and the twigs 

 of alpine plants. 



The Hudson Bay, or Hoary. Hare, a still 

 smaller species, is found in the barren grounds 

 from Fort Churchill northwards, and is distin- 

 guishable from the type mainly by its gray sum- 

 mer pelage. Mr. Edward A. Preble states that 

 " in winter they migrate to a slight extent, reach- 

 ing the neighborhood of York Factory and per- 

 haps farther." Describing his search for speci- 

 mens of this Hare, he says : " I had walked 

 several miles before my attention was attracted 

 by what at first appeared to be a boulder on 

 which a small restless bird was perched. A sec- 

 ond glance showed that the object was an Arctic 

 Hare, whose ears, twitching slightly, completed 

 the resemblance that had deceived me. Another 

 was afterward started from beneath a dwarfed 



