What do hares eat in the winter

All rights reserved. Common Name: Snowshoe Hare. Scientific Name: Lepus americanus. Type: Mammals. Diet: Herbivore. Size: 16 to 20 inches. Weight: 2 to 4 pounds. Size relative to a 6-ft man:. Least concern. Least Concern Extinct. Current Population Trend: Stable.

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Download in-depth information about the control of jackrabbits and other hares from The Handbook: Prevention and Control of Wildlife Damage , published by the University of Nebraska:. Your municipality or municipal district is authorized to help with rabbit and hare concerns. Local pest control companies may also be able to provide advice or service.

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Submissions that include telephone numbers, addresses, or emails will be removed. About rabbits and hares In Alberta, there are mountain cottontail rabbits, snowshoe hares, white-tailed jackrabbits a type of hare and a variety of domestic rabbit breeds.

Wild rabbits are grey to brown all year and hares are grey to brown in summer and white in winter. Domestic rabbits can be differentiated from wild rabbits by the variety of colours and sizes and are not protected by any of Alberta's wildlife laws.

Hare populations tend to peak every 10 years. Rabbits normally live only 12 to 15 months and in that time have approximately three litters of up to six young. In the city, rabbit and hare populations are kept in check by vehicles, weather, predators and other mortality factors.

The range extends south along the Sierras, Rockies, and Appalachian mountain ranges. Kurta, ; Wilson and Ruff, Snowshoe hares are most often found in open fields, fence rows, swamps, riverside thickets, cedar bogs and low areas with conifers. Groups of males gather around females who are ready to mate, following the females as they move about their home ranges.

Both males and females have multiple mates. Breeding season for snowshoe hares runs from mid-March through August. Pregnancy lasts 36 days. When labor approaches, female hares become highly aggressive and intolerant of males.

They go to a birthing area, where they have prepared an area of packed down grasses. Females give birth to litters of up to 8 young, although the average litter size is usually two to four young. Litters born late in the season tend to be larger than litters born in the spring. Females may have up to four litters a year, depending on enviromental conditions.

Males and females become mature within a year of their birth. Young snowshoe hares are born fully furred and able to move around. The young hide in separate places during the day, only coming together for 5 to 10 minutes at a time to nurse.

The female alone cares for them until they are weaned and ready to go off on their own, about four weeks after they are born. Individuals may live up to 5 years in the wild. Carey and Judge, ; Kurta, Snowshoe hares are typically solitary, but they often live near many other hares, and individuals share overlapping home ranges. They are active at low light levels and so are most often seen out and about at dawn, dusk, and during the night.

They are also active on cloudy days. During the daylight hours, hares spend a great deal of time grooming, and they take occasional naps. They are most active along pathways, trampled down "roads" in the vegetation that the hares know very thoroughly. Hares like to take dust baths. These help to remove parasites, such as fleas and lice , from the hares' fur. Snowshoe hares are also good swimmers. They occasionally swim across small lakes and rivers, and they have been seen entering the water in order to avoid predators.

During its active period, a hare may cover up to 0. Snowshoe hares have excellent hearing, which helps them to identify approaching predators. They are not particularly vocal animals, but may make loud squealing sounds when captured. When fighting with each other, these animals may hiss and snort. Most communication between hares involves thumping the hind feet against the ground. The diet of snowshoe hares is variable.

They eat many different kinds of grasses, small leafy plants, and flowers. The new growth of trembling aspen, birches and willows is also eaten. During the winter, snowshoe hares forage on buds, twigs, bark, and evergreens. They have been known to scavenge the remains of their own kind in the winter months.