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Animals in the Wild 



TWENTY FEET AT A BOUND 



Jack rabbits are among the swiftest animals in creation. They may hit forty-five 

 miles an hour in escaping from attack, and single bounds of twenty feet are 

 not uncommon! The jack rabbit's long ears, reminding us of those of a jackass, 

 Inspired its popular name. They are capable of extraordinarily keen hearing. 



Rabbits and Hares: It is sometimes confusing, especially to a child, 

 to hear a rabbit called a hare. Ostensibly ''hare" is just another 

 word for "rabbit." Yet actually this is not the case. Rabbits 

 resemble hares in appearance, though they differ in some of their 

 habits. Hares are larger in size. 



Rabbits are born blind and hairless and completely dependent 

 on their mother's care. She pulls fur from her own body with her 

 teeth and paws to line the nest. When she goes foraging for food 

 she covers the young with fur and grass. This serves as a blanket 

 and also as camouflage. Our tame rabbits are all descendants of 

 wild rabbits of Europe. 



The babies of the hare are born with their eyes open and are 

 able to take care of themselves in three weeks or less. The jack 

 rabbit is a hare, despite its common name, which is derived from 

 its long jackass-like ears. Its shoulder height is as much as twelve 

 inches and it can make leaps of from twelve to twenty feet with 

 its long powerful hind legs. 



