284 



MAMMALS OF AMERICA 



session. The widest ranges of temperature do 

 not bother him ; he is equally comfortable on 

 the scorching plains and deserts of the \\'est, 

 and on Mexican Mountains 8000 feet or more 

 above the level of the sea. Scarcity of food 

 causes him no anxiety ; for he can thrive where 

 many another animal would starve. Even his 

 enemies, and they are many, can gain only a 

 temporary advantage over him ; for in spite of 

 the attacks of beasts and birds of prey, of the 

 pursuits of sportsmen in search of game, and 



under the juniper, or in the greasewood, squat- 

 ting perfectly motionless with their long ears laid 

 flat upon their backs, " their color harmonizing 

 so well with their surroundings that they are 

 rarely seen until they start with a great bound 

 and gallop swiftly away." Dr. T. S. Palmer 

 says that certain shrubs in the \\'est " are com- 

 monly known as ' rabbit brush ' because they 

 grow in dense thickets in which ' rabbits ' are 

 fond of hiding." \Miere there are no bushes, 

 the animals seek the shade of any object to 



Photograph by H. E. Anth 



COLUMBIA BLACK-TAILED JACK " RABBIT " 



The protective coloring of this animal among the sage and mesquite is well shown 



of hunters in search of State bounties for his 

 destruction as vermin, not to mention epidemics 

 carrying off thousands of his race, the Black- 

 tailed Jack " Rabbit " continues to survive and 

 flourish. 



Unlike the Cottontails, the Jack " Rabbits " 

 do not live in burrows. They make their forms 

 or nests in patches of grass, under the low 

 branches of trees, in tufts of shrubs, or any 

 similar place where they can find protection 

 from the weather and bring forth their young. 

 In the Little Colorado Desert, for instance, they 

 may be found in the intense heat of the day 



shelter them from the burning sun ; and on the 

 Southern Pacific Railroad, these Hares may 

 sometimes be seen " crouching in the shadow of 

 the telegraph poles, evidently alarmed by the 

 train, but uncertain whether or not to forsake 

 their shady spots and seek safety in flight." It 

 may be noted here that Jack " Rabbits " do not 

 turn up the tail like Cottontails, so that the color 

 of the upper surface, whether white or black, 

 can easily be determined even at a distance. 



There are very few positive data available 

 as to the breeding habits of Jack " Rabbits," but 

 Dr. Palmer, from the examination of very 



