Rabbit vs Hare

by Stan Tekiela
© NatureSmart
November 9, 2007

Everyone knows the old saying about comparing apples to oranges. Sure they are both fruit but they look completely different. How about comparing rabbits and hares? Just like the apple and orange they are different species but the confusion comes because some of the rabbits and hares look exactly the same.

The Eastern Cottontail rabbit is the most common and widespread rabbit in the lower 48 states. They are found in every state in the eastern half of the country and in some of the southwestern states. This is the familiar backyard bunny that is often responsible for eating your tulips in the spring and gnawing the bark off your newly planted trees in the winter.

The Eastern Cottontail is just one of 9 species of cottontails found in the US. By any measurement this is a very successful group. It inhabits all sorts of habitat. There is an Appalachian Cottontail that only lives in the higher elevations of the Appalachian Mountains. There is a Swamp Rabbit that lives in the swamps of Louisiana and there is a March Rabbit that lives in (you guessed it) the marches of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. The deserts of the southwest have a cottontail called the Desert Cottontail. Just about any specialized habitat found in the US has a cottontail that has evolved to adapt and thrive in that habitat.

All of these cottontails look very similar with only the length of their ears and the body size varying from species to species. All cottontail babies are born naked, with their eyes closed and are completely helpless. They are dependant upon their mother for warmth and nourishment for up to a couple weeks.

No matter what you think of these small furry critters, there is no denying that they play a very important role in the web of life. Just about all the major predators from the Red-tailed Hawks to the Red Fox and Coyote, find rabbits a good source of food. And we all know how important it is to have an intact and complete ecosystem.

And now let’s look at the apple or is it the orange as it may be-- the hares. Hares are a group of animals that look very similar to the rabbits but there are some major differences. There are 6 species of hare in the US. Most of these are called jackrabbits such as Black-tailed Jackrabbit, White-tailed Jackrabbit or Antelope Jackrabbit. These common names help to add to the confusion between rabbits and hares.

Some of the hares have names that help to define their differences such as the Snowshoe Hare, Arctic Hare and Alaskan Hare. But no matter if you call them Jackrabbits or Hares they all have the similar traits. Young hares are born with their eyes open, they are fully furred and able to run within hours. The nest they are born is nothing more than a simple scrape in the ground with very little if any nesting material. They spend so little time in the nest after birth that a warm comfortable nest is not necessary.

Most but not all the hares chance color from brown in summer to white in winter. This is something that rabbits don’t do.

At this time of year the hares are turning white to match the coming winter landscape. Here is an image of a Snowshoe that is in transition. This can be a very vulnerable time in the life of a Snowshoe because if there is no snow on the ground they will stick out like a snowball on blacktop. Until next time...

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