White-tailed Jackrabbit
Not a true rabbit but actually a hare, jackrabbits are born with fur and open eyes and weigh about 100 grams at birth. The mother jackrabbit makes a den in an old burrow or simply shallows out a "form" in the ground in which she gives birth. Litter size averages four babies called leverets.
Babies are able to run very shortly after birth. Leverets are weaned at about five to six weeks of age and will reach adult weight of 3-6 kg and an average length of 56 cm in 3-4 months.
Jackrabbits are herbivores, surviving on plants. Summer diets consist of a variety of green vegetation including clover, dandelions, alfalfa, grasses and cultivated grains. In winter their usual food consists of dried grasses, roots, bark of small fruit and berry trees and cultivated and stored hay.
This hare is very fast. Speeds up to 64 kph are not uncommon with leaps as long as 5 meters. The White-tailed Jackrabbit is brown with white underside in summer and all white in winter. The tips of ears are always black and his tail is always white. The scientific name for the White-tailed Jackrabbit is Leapus townsendii.
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