Antelope hare
| Antelope hare | ||||||||||||
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Antelope Hare ( Lepus alleni ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Lepus alleni | ||||||||||||
| Mearns , 1890 |
The antelope hare ( Lepus alleni ) belongs to the genus of the real hare within the family of the hare (Leporidae). This rabbit shows the white underside of the tail as it runs away. This behavior resembles the pronghorn , which in America is known as the antelope . This is how the species got its name.
Antelope hares are common in southern Arizona and northwestern Mexico . With a length of up to 67 centimeters and a weight of five kilograms, they are among the largest and heaviest rabbits. Their fur is sandy-gray on top, with the whitish color of the belly extending further up than other rabbit species. He also has noticeably long ears, these can be up to 17.3 centimeters long.
Their habitat are dry regions with bushes or cacti. During the day they rest in earth hollows in order to search for food mainly at dusk and dawn. They do not dig burrows, but flee from predators with great speed and high jumps. Their diet consists of grasses, mesquites and cacti.
Antelope hares can reproduce all year round, several times a year the female gives birth to around two to four young animals. As with all real rabbits, newborns are born with open eyes and hairy and they flee the nest. After a month they are weaned.
They are sometimes hunted because they attack fields and saplings, but the antelope hares populations are stable. Despite their small range, they are not endangered species.
Web links
- Lepus alleni inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.1. Listed by: Mexican Association for Conservation and Study of Lagomorphs (AMCELA), Romero Malpica, FJ & Rangel Cordero, H., 2008. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Lepus alleni , Animal Diversity Web (eng.), Read August 30, 2010.
- ^ Carwardine, Mark: Guinness Djurrekordbok , Bokförlaget Forum AB Stockholm, 1996 (Swedish edition), p. 59. ISBN 91-37-10910-3 .