Wednesday, February 8, 2023

WHITE TAILED JACK RABBIT

       When I looked in my back yard about 7:AM this morning a jack rabbit was comfortably "sitting " in the snow with new snow covering it's coat. It sat there all day and left around 6:00 PM. They are more active at night. 

       Now for those who don't know about jack rabbits, they are a hare that lives about 3 - 8 years in the wild, weighs from 6- 10 lb. (2.5-4 kg) 22in. -26 in (56-65cm) long and can hit speeds of 55 km/h. They are  quite the sight when they put things in high gear. They soon disappear over the hill. They inhabit the central part of the north American plains. 

     They also change color with the  seasonal changes so they are white in the winter and brown in the summer.

      They are common here and get along  in the city very well where there's lots of food they like. So they cross my yard often and stop to eat and many times spend the day in the shelter of my yard. There has been two litters of young born in my backyard and of course, I blogged about them. 

      The reason this animal caught my eye this morning is that it is changing color. Usually the color change is much later starting about mid March.

    I took this photo shortly after 7:00 Am as I thought he/she might leave
    You can see how they make a scrape in the snow and bed down for the day. They like to get their butt up against a wall of some kind where they cannot be attacked from behind. 
       The ears remain dark all year.