SMALLER MAMMALS OF NORTH AMERICA 



487 



THE CALIFORNIA 

 JACK RABBIT 



(Lepus californicus 



and its subspecies) 



(For illustration, see 

 page 30") 



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The common hares,_ or 

 gray-sided "jack rabbits" 

 of the Western States, 

 are among our best 

 known and most in- 

 teresting mammals. They 

 are characterized by long, 

 thin necks, long ears 

 tipped with black, long- 

 legs, grayish sides differ- 

 ing but little from the 

 color of the back, and a 

 rather long tail, black on 

 its upper side and dingy 

 gray below. 



They are alnmdant and 

 generally distributed over 

 a vast and mainly tree- 

 less area in middle Nortli 

 America extending from 

 western Missouri and 

 eastern Texas to the Pa- 

 cific coast, and from the 

 border of South Dakota 



and the Columbia River X'alley of Washington 

 south over the tableland of Mexico and through- 

 out the peninsula of Lower California. Within 

 this region tliey range from sea level up to an 

 altitude of over 9,000 feet. Li the North they 

 experience severe winters witli much snow, but 

 never show any winter whitening of their furry 

 coat, as do more northern hares. 



The gray-sided hares over all this extended 

 range belong to a single species, typified by the 

 California jack rabbit. The area thus occupied 

 includes ijiany different climatic and other 

 physical conditions, from the sweeping grassy 

 plains of Kansas to the juniper and pine dotted 

 plateaus of the Rocky Mountain region, the 

 foggy coast of California, the hot cactus- 

 grown deserts of the Southwest, and the cool 

 elevations of the Mexican tableland. 



This varying environment has worked on the 

 plastic organization of the species and modified 

 it into a considerable number of well-marked 

 geographic races which together make up the 

 gray-sided group of jack rabbits, in contrast 

 with the white-sided group already described. 

 Some of the races are very dissimilar in color, 

 but each merges imperceptibly into its neigh- 

 boring races, and the group thus forms an im- 

 broken chain of subspecies. 



Like other hares, the jack rabbits are both 

 diurnal and nocturnal in habits. They do not 

 burrow, but make forms among dense growths 

 of grass or weeds, or under bushes, where they 

 lie hidden. It is a question whether they have 

 more than one litter a season, although it is 

 known that in some parts of their range young 

 are born at all times throughout the spring 



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A OU.XDRUPED WITH BIPED TRACK: THE COMMON CAT 



The cat does not show its claws in the track. In walking, the 

 hind foot is set exactly in the track of the front foot; this perfect 

 register offers many advantages and makes for a silent tread. The 

 track of the cat will probably be noticed more than that of any other 

 .-.iiimal, owing to the large numbers of them in every locality. 



and summer. From one to six are produced 

 at a time, fully clothed in fur and with their 

 eyes open. Within a few days they leave the 

 "form" and run about like little furry balls. 

 Even at this early period they are amazingly 

 alert and skillful in evading capture by quickly 

 doubling and zigzagging when pursued. 



Througliout its range the gray-sided jack 

 rabbit is preyed upon by a host of enemies, in- 

 cluding wolves, coyotes, wildcats, eagles, and 

 several species of hawks and owls. As a result 

 it has become extremely cunning and watchful. 

 It is a beautiful sight to observe the cautious 

 grace with wdiich one that suspects danger but 

 thinks itself unobserved will quietly move out 

 of its form, pause like a statue for a few sec- 

 onds, then raise its body into a sitting posture 

 and look keenly about, its great upstanding ears 

 turning sensitively to one side and the other, 

 delicately testing the air for sound waves, 

 which may spell approaching peril. 



If not alarmed it may then move slowly 

 along by a series of easy little hops, occasion- 

 ally varied by the single-footed gait of most 

 other mammals. At such times the ears are 

 often raised and lowered as though worked 

 by some mechanism. If the rabbit becomes 

 alarmed, however, it leaps away in quick, 

 springy and graceful bounds, now and then 

 making a high soaring leap as if to command 

 a better view. 



These occasional high leaps mark the first 

 stages of alarm. In greater stress, when pur- 

 sued by a coyote or other swift-footed enemy, 

 the jack rabbit indulges in no such showy per- 

 formances, but gets down to serious work, and 



