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INTRODUCTION
Among the best-known wild animals are
the cottontails and jackrabbits. They are abundant in the brushy woods and
gardens of eastern North America, on the western plains and deserts, on
mountains, and even in the Arctic snows. Many of the animals called
rabbits, such as the jackrabbit and snowshoe rabbit, are actually hares.
Distributed throughout the world,
hares and rabbits have many common characteristics. Both species breed
prolifically, bearing four to eight litters a year, with three to eight
young in each litter, have a period of gestation lasting about a month,
reach sexual maturity in about six months, and have a life span of about
ten years. These animals, which weigh from about 1 to 5 kg (about 2 to 11
lb) and attain a length of about 30 to 60 cm (about 12 to 24 in), feed
mainly on herbs, tree bark, and vegetables.
They prefer to live in regions where
the soil is loose and dry and where brushwood offers shelter. Although
rabbits and hares are valued as game by hunters, as food, and for their
fur, they often are pests to farmers whose trees and crops they destroy.
The species commonly found in the U.S. and Canada are the cottontail, the
snowshoe rabbit, the jackrabbit, and the domestic rabbit.
Differences and Similarities
Rabbits and hares are gnawing animals
like rats, mice, and squirrels. They have the same type of strong, chisel
like front teeth. Rabbits and hares, common name for members of the family
Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha.
Although the common names rabbit and
hare are often used interchangeably, in zoological classification the
species called rabbits are characterized by their offspring that are born
naked and blind, and by their habit of living in colonies in underground burrows.
In contrast, species designated zoologically as hares are born furred and
with vision, and the adults build a simple nest and rarely live socially.
The hare is also generally larger than the rabbit and has longer ears with
characteristic black markings. Moreover, the skulls of rabbits and hares
are distinctly different.
The hare is larger and heavier than a
rabbit. With its longer hind legs and larger hind feet, it can out jump any
rabbit and does not tire as quickly.
Their Offsprings
Hares and rabbits bear their young in
very different ways. The female hare (called a doe) has two or three
litters of young a year, with from four to six babies in each litter. She
does not make a nest for her young. They are born in a flattened area,
called a form, in the grass beneath a low branch or under a brush heap.
Young jackrabbits may lie directly on the desert ground in the shade of a
cactus or some other plant. Young hares are born with their eyes open and
with dense fur on their bodies. They can care for themselves within a few
days.
A mother rabbit provides a nest by
scraping out a hollow in the grass or moving into an old woodchuck hole.
The young are born blind, naked, and helpless. The mother feeds the babies
with her milk. When she goes for her own food, she hides the nest with
leaves or grass. The baby rabbits open their eyes in about a week. In ten
or 12 days they leave the nest. By the time they are 3 weeks old they can
care for themselves. Rabbits have many litters from early spring to late
fall. There are from four to six young in each litter. In the Southern
states, rabbits bear young throughout the year. Male rabbits and hares
(called bucks) pay no attention to the young. Bucks have several mates.
Their Ears
Both rabbits and hares are well
equipped to detect enemies. The long ears are very sensitive. Therefore
these animals should never be lifted by their ears. They should be picked
up by the loose skin of the neck with one hand while the other hand
supports the body under the hind legs. When the animal is at ease the ears
lie quietly along its back. At the slightest sound its ears stand upright,
waving backward and forward as they try to locate the danger.
Nose, Eyes, Lips, Paws and Tail
The nose too is sensitive. As the
animal tries to get a scent, it twitches the nostrils and moves the head up
and down in a worried manner. Each large eye sees more than half a circle,
and together the two eyes see in every direction. Thus a rabbit can watch
an approaching hawk overhead and at the same time look for shelter. The
upper lip is split. That is why a deformity in the upper lip in human
beings is called harelip. The tail is short, and in most rabbits and hares
it stands erect. Their tail is used to alert others that a predator is near
by. It has five toes on its forefeet and four on the hind feet. The paws,
however, cannot turn inward to be used as hands like those of mice and
squirrels.
Their Coat
Rabbits and hares have thick fur. They
have two kinds of hair forming their coat: (1) dense and soft underhair for
insulation and (2) coarse and longer guard hair for protection against wear
and to provide coloration. The arctic hare, for example, has a thick winter
white coat that enables it to survive continuous exposure to cold. Many
hares turn white in the winter. Rabbits keep the same color coat
year-round.
What They Like To Eat.
Rabbits and hares feed at night and
remain in the nest or form during the day. They are fond of all green
growing things and have thus earned the reputation of doing great damage to
gardens and field crops. In the winter they feed on the bark of trees and
shrubs, on buds, and on berries.
Their Enemies
In turn, they are the chief food of
many animals, such as wolves, coyotes, lynxes, foxes, mountain lions, and
wildcats. Owls and hawks prey on them, and red squirrels attack their
young. Millions are killed by hunters every year.
How They Avoid Their Enemies
To escape enemies, rabbits and hares
rely chiefly on speed. When a hare or rabbit takes to flight it leaves the
ground with a tremendous leap. For an instant its body is stretched out in
a straight line. Then, while still in the air, it brings its hind legs
forward until they reach beyond and above its head. While it is bunched in
this position, its forepaws strike the ground, one ahead of the other. An
instant later the hind legs strike on each side and ahead of the forefeet.
Thus the animal is coiled up almost like a spring. It uncoils suddenly to
make its next great leap.
The tracks left by the feet form a
pattern like a human face. The marks are blurred, because the feet are
furry. A frightened jackrabbit covers from 15 to 20 feet at a bound.
Cottontails jump little more than eight feet, and they tire more quickly.
Traveling at top speed, they may stop suddenly and jump in another
direction. This trick has driven pursuing dogs headlong into barbed-wire
fences and even over cliffs. Hares and rabbits are timid, but they fight
bravely in defense of their young and in self-defense. They may leap over
the back of another animal or a snake, and give it a fierce kick with the
hind legs. They bite if necessary.
A Menace to Crops
In spite of all their foes, rabbits
and hares may increase rapidly enough to overrun large areas and destroy
entire crops. In 1850 three pairs of the European rabbits were turned loose
in Australia. Within a few years Australians wondered whether the
descendants could be checked before they swept the country clean. Millions
of dollars were spent for bounties and for devices for killing the rabbits
or protecting the crops. New Zealand had a similar experience a few years
later. In the western United States jackrabbits increase enormously in
numbers in five- to ten-year cycles and cause great damage to crops. At
such times thousands are killed by poisoning and by organized hunts.
Scientific Classification
Because of their gnawing teeth,
rabbits and hares once were classified as rodents (Rodentia). But they
differ from the others by having two small incisors (cutting teeth) behind
the larger ones in the upper jaw. For this reason scientists now place them
in a separate order, Lagomorpha. Within the order Lagomorpha, rabbits and
hares belong to the family Leporidae.
Sources:
Funk & Wagnall’s Knowledge Center
Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia,
1995
Integrated Principles of Zoology, 1974
La Nouvelle Encyclopedie des Animaux,
1980
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