SMALLER MAMMALS OF NORTH AMERICA 



337 



Jack rabbits are specially adapted for life on 

 great plains, where speed and the ability to 

 subsist on almost any form of vegetation are 

 prime qualities. They are as grotesquely char- 

 acteristic of the Western States as the kan- 

 garoos were of Australia, and have entered 

 fargely into the literature of the region they 

 occupy. 



THE VARYING HARES (Lepus ameri- 

 canus and its relatives) 



(For illustration, see page 405) 



The varying hares, white rabbits, or snow- 

 shoe rabbits, as they are known, form a small 

 group of closely related species and geographic 

 races of hares peculiar to northern North 

 America. They sometimes attain a weight of 

 five pounds and are about half the size of the 

 arctic hares, which they resemble in form, ex- 

 cept that they are more heavily built and have 

 proportionatelv shorter legs and larger hind 

 feet. 



With a single exception they become white 

 in winter and change to dusky or brownish in 

 summer. The molt from the brown summer 

 coat to the white winter one occurs with the 

 arrival of winter snows, the exact time varying 

 according to the season, the reverse change in 

 spring being governed in a similar way by the 

 disappearance of the snow. In the southern 

 part of their range the change to the white 

 winter coat is less complete than in the North. 

 There has been much controversy over the 

 manner of this change in color, some maintain- 

 ing that on the approach of, winter the hairs 

 turn white with the first snow. It has been 

 definitely proved, however, that both seasonal 

 changes are due to molt. 



The Washington hare (Lepus washing torn), 

 which remains brown throughout the year, is 

 the exception to the rule of white winter coats 

 in this group of hares. It lives in the cool, 

 dense forests of the humid coast belt of Wash- 

 ington and adjacent part of British Columbia, 

 where the snowfall does not affect its pelage. 



In winter the large hind feet of the varying 

 hares and their long, spreading toes are en- 

 tirely covered with a heavy coat of hair, form- 

 ing broad snowshoe-like pads, which enable 

 their possessors to move about freely over the 

 soft snow, a peculiarity that has given rise to 

 one of the names in common use. 



In cool, forested regions varying hares range 

 from Maine and extreme eastern Canada, in- 

 cluding Newfoundland, to the Pacific coast, 

 and from the stunted bushes bordering the 

 northern limit of trees south to the northern 

 border of the United States and beyond, fol- 

 lowing the higher Alleghenies to West Vir- 

 ginia, the Rocky Mountains to New Mexico, 

 and well down the Sierra Nevada in Cali- 

 fornia. 



As in the case of other species, these hares 

 make "forms" in which they lie by day, for 

 they are mainly nocturnal in habits. The mat- 

 ing season occurs in early spring, when the 



males become very restless, several sometimes 

 congregating in the same vicinity and occa- 

 sionally fighting and chasing one another about. 

 At this time, as well as at other seasons, snow- 

 shoe rabbits have a habit of thumping rapidly 

 on the ground, making a dull sound audible for 

 some distance. This is probably done with the 

 hind feet, as is known to be the case with the 

 European rabbit. 



The thumping is apparently a signal and 

 may be a part of the mating display, but is 

 also used for warning purposes. Hunters in 

 northern Canada call these rabbits by making 

 a harsh squeaking noise with their lips. Some- 

 times they become so eager and excited on 

 hearing this call that with odd little grunting 

 sounds they come bounding close up to the 

 hunter. 



The young, varying from two to seven, are 

 born in nests made of dry leaves, grasses, and 

 other suitable vegetation, warmly lined with 

 hair from the mother's body, and usually hid- 

 den under brush or in dense vegetation. The 

 young, which have their eyes open and are 

 "fully furred at birth, within a few days leave 

 the nest and move freely about. Although the 

 mother snowshoe rabbit will defend her young 

 at first even at the risk of her life, when they 

 are half grown she leaves them to shift for 

 themselves. Young hares of various ages 

 when caught often utter shrill squealing cries 

 of fright and the older animals when wounded 

 and caught sometimes do the same. 



Perhaps through living so constantly in low- 

 ground, among swamps and along streams, 

 varying hares become less averse to entering 

 water than most of their kind. In the delta of 

 the Yukon River I saw many places where they 

 had crossed small streams in spring, their wet 

 tracks entering and leaving the water, thus 

 furnishing unmistakable evidence. Curiously 

 enough, when caught by a flood they will take 

 refuge on stumps or other support and often 

 remain to starve rather than swim ashore. 



In summer, owing to their nocturnal habits 

 and the dense thickets they inhabit, varying 

 hares are rarely seen unless they are unusually 

 plentiful. In winter their presence is known 

 by their conspicuous tracks, leading in every 

 direction through their haunts. A single ani- 

 mal will in one night so thoroughly track the 

 snow in a patch of woods it gives the impres- 

 sion that several must have been there. 



In river bottoms, among densely wooded 

 swamps, these rabbits frequently make definite 

 beaten runways in the snow ; runways are also 

 made through thickets in their summer haunts. 

 This habit renders it easy to snare them, and 

 enormous numbers are thus captured every 

 winter. 



They feed on a variety of small herbage in 

 summer and in winter depend on buds, twigs, 

 and the bark of shrubs and small trees. They 

 are specially fond of willows, and their winter 

 distribution in many districts is governed by 

 the abundance of willow thickets. 



Varying hares are one of the most important 

 mammals of the northern fur country. They 

 are generally distributed and exist in such nnm- 



