Snowshoe Hare
Snowshoe Hares may produce up to four litters per year. One to nine 40-45 gram babies can make up a litter of these prolific breeders. In the wild, the most common litter size is four.
Newborn hares have fur covering their bodies and their eyes are open. They can hop within hours of birth. They leave their mothers at about one month of age. When mature at five months of age, hares will weigh about 1.3-1.5 kg.
The Snowshoe Hare has large black tipped ears and large hind feet which help it to travel in deep snow-hence the name-Snowshoe Hare. Sometimes called the "varying Hare" it changes from brown in the summer to white in the winter and back again in the spring.
The Hare's favourite foods include green vegetation such as clover, sedges, ferns and forbes and in winter the bark of a variety of trees and shrubs. Water is gained from eating snow in winter.
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