Hare, Arctic

Physical Features

The Arctic Hare is North America's largest hare. It has grayish brown fur during summer and white fur in winter, with black tips on its ears. White fur in the winter makes it possible to camouflage itself against the backdrop of white snow to hide from predators. Arctic Hares in the northernmost region are always white. The Arctic Hare has strong hind legs with which it leaps on the snow. With these powerful legs, it can hop at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour. It uses long claws on its hind legs to dig into the snow and is able to feed on plants in rocky clefts with its long incisors. Arctic Hares grow up to 21 inches (53cm) in length, with a tail 2 inches (5cm) long and they weigh on average 12 pounds (5.5kg). The male Hare is called a buck while the female is called a doe and the baby hare is known as a leveret.

Habitat

The Arctic Hare is found in some islands off the coast of Greenland. It lives in the tundra and in mountainous areas where the vegetation is mainly composed of dwarf shrubs. Such regions above the tree line in Northern Canada provide an ideal home for the Arctic Hare.

Diet

The Arctic Hare feeds on berries, mosses, and sedges, which are available in abundance in the tundra. It also gnaws on roots and twigs for vital nutrients. Arctic hares are fond of communal feeding. It is not unusual to find large groups of hares feeding together in the northernmost parts of their range.

Meat

The meat of the Arctic Hare has a characteristic taste similar to chicken and is very lean and tasty.

Behavior

Arctic Hares mate and sire their newborns during the second quarter of the year. Leverets are usually born late May or July, and even later in the northernmost parts of the hare's range. The female gives birth to 2 to 8 leverets after a 36 to 37 day gestation period. A female hare nurses her leverets in a nest cushioned with grass and fur. In their early days, the leverets learn to hide from predators by sitting still under vegetation cover and rocks. Leverets begin to leave the nest when they are 2 to 3 weeks old and are fully weaned at about 8 to 9 weeks. Arctic Hares have a life span of 3 to 5 years.

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