Lepus Americanus Sightings

       One of my favorite little mammals is what is called snow shoe hare http://blog.talkaboutwildlife.ca/ or what I like to call the bush rabbit. I know you'll get tired of this statement but here goes. As a child in central Saskatchewan there was still a fair bit of brush left. The natural areas were close together. At times the brush was absolutely crawling with these little guys. Many could be spotted at the same time.

       Most farms at this time had border collie which was used to herd cattle. We had Jack, who was a very good dog for handling cattle. But Jack had a few flaws. Jack thought that the snow shoe hares needed to be herded so Jack went tearing into the brush to herd the rabbits where ever he thought they should go. He ran through the brush yapping at  a high pitch. After a while he would come back totally wiped with a smug look on his face as if to say. "I sure sent those guys packin." He probably chased all of them to the next patch of brush or the rabbits may have played tricks on him by each leading him off the trail.
     Jack also liked to ride on any tractor that moved. If a rabbit jumped out in front of the tractor Jack jumped forward between the tractor fender and engine and proceeded to give chase. The white tailed jack rabbits were too fast for him to herd so he would come back and you had to stop and let him get back on the tractor. One time Jack got momentarily hung up on his great leap off the tractor and fell. The tractor wheel ran over his back end. He yelped in great pain , but a few days later he was recovered and back on the tractor. Luckily the ground was soft so he was not seriously injured. From then on he was not allowed to leap off the tractor.

       I have not seen much of this species for probably 6 to 8 years. I know they go through tremendous cycles , but I don't ever remember going for so many years and not seeing any individuals.

      Today I cross country skied at River Bend Golf course at Red Deer and was surprised to so lots of evidence of snow shoe hares. Their tracks are everywhere and a tremendous number of droppings are present. So it would seem that there is a fair number in that area. The light today was extremely poor and I did not spend much time looking for them.

       Has anybody else seen them this year? Please leave a comment if you've seen them in other areas.

Coping with Winter

       Many times I have looked at birds or mammals on a very nasty winter day and wondered how they cope with adverse winter weather. I have found myself being extremely uncomfortable and yet some bird or mammal is bouncing along as if there is no problem.


      Well, birds and mammals do suffer, but there are many adaptations which keep them healthy and warm even in the most inclement weather . Natural Wise will take one small example to get you thinking about how a species copes with nasty winter conditions.


       I will use one species as an example. I've posted on the white tailed jack rabbit  previously on Natural Wise. First, rabbits change color for the winter which provides them with camoflage which allows them to expend less energy fleeing from predators. Mammals and birds consume a tremendous amount of food each day to provide energy which mantains body temperature. Of course, the new white coat of the jack rabbit is an adaptation for winter. There is very fine hair fiber which insolates the body. Longer hair provides protection from wind.


      Each species has some unique adaptations. Some have lower blood circulation to the feet so that less body heat is lost. Some hibernate. Others become very inactive for several hours or days.


      So the next time you see some little critter out on a very inclement day, start to think about what adaptations may be present. Click on http://blog.talkaboutwildlife.ca/ for more information.

Snowshoe Hare

I’ve been noticing a few hares (Lepus americanus) in our neighbourhood over that past few years, but nothing like this summer. During my evening stroll, I can see as many as six hopping around the swings in a local schoolyard. It will be interesting to see how many of them survive the winter.
Checking my old copy of Soper’s book, The Mammals of Alberta, (1964), I find that the snowshoe hare follows on average a 9.6 year cycle. I’m thinking that this year must be at or near a population peak. Soper says that the variation is remarkable: in low years, “it almost completely vanishes from the scene; conversely, at the peak the total population at times is almost unbelievable.” It is reported that in the peak of 1912-1914, the “woods everywhere were infested with hares”; another writer estimated a population of “several hundreds in a 30-acre woodlot.”
Once the peak is reached, the die-off is dramatic, occurring in the space of a few months to a couple of years. As this happens, other populations, especially lynx, follow suit.
How can a population increase occur so rapidly? I guess the expression relating to breeding like rabbits is true. They can have several litters per year. Presumably the inevitable die-off occurs when the population reaches a critical mass that is unsustainable by the existing food supply and the proximity of individuals creates a situation where diseases can spread easily. The resulting surge in predator populations may also be a factor.
For many years, we have had a resident snowshoe hare in our neighbourhood. It’s presence is mostly detectable in the winter months. First thing in the morning there are a new set of tracks in the backyard. The route it follows seems consistent. First a visit to the area under the bird feeders, then down to the spruce tree at the end corner of the yard, and finally along the fence to the front yard, and leaving to explore the neighbouring yards.