Hare, Alaskan (Tundra)

Physical Features

Alaskan Hares are also known as Tundra Hares and are among the largest hares known. In winter their fur is completely white apart from black marks on the tips of their ears. They molt to a darker summer coat that serves to provide camouflage when the snow melts. The Alaskan Hare's pure white winter coat is long to offer insulation from the cold while its summer coat is much shorter and a gray-brown color dorsally and white ventrally. Its tail remains totally white. The Alaskan Hare is large and weighs in at 6 - 12 lb/2.7-5.4 kg with a total body length between 22-28 inches/55.8-71.1cm. The leverets (young ones) are darker compared to the adults with a black tinge to their fur.

Habitat

The Alaskan Hare is found in the open tundra of western Alaska and the Aleutian Islands in the United States. They have a preference for areas of high elevation close to snowfields and they usually avoid lowlands and wooded areas.

Diet

Alaskan Hares feed on grasses, heath plants, sedges, dwarf willow and various dwarf arctic plants. They hardly drink water, as they obtain water from the plants they consume.

Meat

The Alaskan Hare's meat is light in color and rich in flavor. The meat is very lean, slightly sweet with a closely textured flesh that has virtually no fat and is very rich in protein. Its taste can be compared to that of chicken. Alaskan Hare meat is an important source of food for Alaskans.

Behavior

Alaskan Hares are active mostly at dusk and dawn. They make of use natural shelters and depressions and rest under branches or in bushes. Alaskan Hares start to breed at about 1 year of age and usually have only one litter per year. The gestation period of the Alaskan Hares is 36 to 37 days The leverets are born fully furred and with their eyes open. They weigh about 2-ounces/57 g at birth and start to walk by the time their fur is dry. In a day or two after birth they are already wandering about their nest, and in less than two weeks they are already be feeding on green vegetation. They are nursed for about a month before their mother weans them. The average lifespan of an Alaskan hare is about 3-4 years.

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