THE GAME BREEDER 



105 



THE BLACK SIBERIAN HARE. 



By A. Goldberg. 



I have read with interest the article 

 written by my old friend and country- 

 man, Mr. Shacknoe, on the black Siber- 

 ian hare. v 



Mr. Shacknoe claims Siberia as the 

 habitat of the animal known in America 

 as the Siberian hare; while in reality it 

 is a rabbit (probably the Patagonian rab- 

 bit) which was imported into Siberia 

 some sixty years ago, and by human 

 selection, taking advantage of the cold 

 climate, it was changed and improved 

 till it reached its present appearance. The 

 slouchy and ugly ears dropping forward, 

 over the eyes, would be straightened up 

 by the coldness of the climate, as the ears 

 of the lop-eared rabbit become straight- 

 ened and erect when bred for three gen- 

 erations in Siberia. 



When black or silver gray sports were 

 produced, they were kept for breeding 

 purposes, and as like begets like, the 

 whole flock soon became either black or 

 silver .gray. 



The desire to breed for these colors 

 was actuated by the higher prices their 

 owners would get for their pelts. They 

 also breed from the largest animals as 

 the flesh of this rabbit is delicious to eat 

 and the owners wanted more of it. 



My theory is that the changes in the 

 animal were made by human selection 

 for personal gain, and it was not caused 

 by the beautiful scientific natural selec- 

 tion, aided by large birds of prey, as so 

 profoundly described by Mr. Shacknoe in 

 his article on the natural history ot the 

 Siberian hare. The fact of the matter is 

 that there is no rabbit indigenous to Si- 

 beria and only three hares, all of which 

 are gray in summer and white in winter. 

 My grandfather, who was a careful 

 and close observer of animals, remem- 

 bered distinctly when the large Pata- 

 gonian rabbit was first imported to Si- 



beria. He often explained to me the 

 effect the cold climate had on the droop- 

 ing ears, and the many other changes 

 that took place from generation to gen- 

 eration as years went on, and now, we 

 find, Mr. Shacknoe writing it up as a 

 native of Siberia and giving it the char- 

 acter of a wild hare when it js really a 

 tame rabbit, a few of which have been 

 turned out to take care of themselves 

 and have become semi-wild. 



Mr. Shacknoe gives a very interesting 

 story of the way in which this rabbit 

 prepares for her young, their customs 

 and habits in a wild state. Why, this is 

 not peculiar to the Siberian rabbit. Turn 

 the Belgian hare or common rabbit out 

 wild and they would act identically as 

 Mr. Shacknoe describes this rabbit does. ' 



In conversation with a gentleman, who 

 turned out a flock of Belgian hares on 

 an island in Canada, this gentleman, who 

 has read Mr. Shacknoe's account of the 

 Siberian in its natural state, says it is 

 identical as his rabbits acted, when turned 

 wild on the island ; therefore, this is noth- 

 ing new — but it is the nature of any rab- 

 bit to act so when turned out wild. 



Now, in conclusion, may I say that I 

 have no wish to injure the reputation of 

 my countryman, or the business of those 

 who have imported these rabbits to this 

 country, but I write to correct the errors 

 in Mr. Shacknoe's article. I have seen 

 some of these rabbits in this country 

 that were imported from Siberia and I 

 consider them fairly good specimens and 

 equal to those I have seen in my native 

 country. I believe they are now superior 

 to all other utility rabbits, as the fur is 

 valuable as well as the flesh, but it must 

 be remembered that their excellent qual- 

 ities were obtained by breeding in Si- 

 beria's cold climate for in this climate 

 the fur will deteriorate equally as fast 

 as it improved in Siberia. 



^6'- 



