Today’s critter loves big feet and munching on grass. This furball doesn’t take winters off because it loves the white snow. And as any New Englander knows, that snow can look magical under the moonlight, which is the preferred time of activity for this tiny mammal. Today, enjoy a few facts about the snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus).
Snowshoe hares have giant hind feet, which, you guessed it, act like snowshoes. The big pads are covered with fur, helping with insulation and traction on top of the snow. The hare’s foot also allows it to move atop the snow without sinking in, a handy adaptation as the creature zig-zags away from predators like the Canada lynx.
In the winter, snowshoe coats are white, but change to a grayish-brown camouflage in the summertime. According to the National Park Service, this change takes around 70 days and is triggered by the chemical melatonin, which on days with longer periods of sunlight, helps to create the brown pigments in the hare’s fur.
Mating season extends from mid-March through August and is what scientists call “polygynandrous,” which means both the males and the females have multiple mates. But when it’s time for a lady snowshoe to give birth (after only about a month), she doesn’t want men around. Females get aggressive and retire alone to an area of packed-down grasses, where they can give birth to up to eight young .
Young are born fully furred and able to move around. Lifespan for a snowshoe in the wild is generally pretty short (about a year) because of predators, but it’s possible that snowshoe hares can live for up to five years – munching on plants.
Communication can happen through foot stomps on the ground, but snowshoes generally prefer to keep to themselves. While they like snow, the animals can make it in water, too. Snowshoes have been observed swimming in lakes and rivers, and, according to the University of Michigan, the hares will sometimes jump into the water to avoid predators.
(Image Credit: Creative Commons: Dave Doe, Denali National Park and Preserve: Tim Rains / Source: Animal Diversity Web: The University of Michigan, Snowshore Hare: National Park Service, Wikimedia Commons, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, National Geographic: Snowshoe Hare, Adirondack Ecological Center)
