Prairie hare

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Prairie hare
Prairie hare (Lepus townsendii)

Prairie hare ( Lepus townsendii )

Systematics
Subclass : Higher mammals (Eutheria)
Superordinate : Euarchontoglires
Order : Hare-like (Lagomorpha)
Family : Hares (Leporidae)
Genre : Real rabbits ( Lepus )
Type : Prairie hare
Scientific name
Lepus townsendii
Bachman , 1839

The prairie hare ( Lepus townsendii ), English white-tailed jackrabbit , is a species of mammal from the rabbit family (Leporidae). Its distribution areas are mainly the great prairies in southern Canada and the northwestern Midwest of the USA , but it also inhabits the Rocky Mountains .

features

The prairie hare is slightly larger than the donkey hare ( Lepus californicus ) and, when fully grown, reaches an average weight of 2.75 kg for the males and 3.25 kg for the females in southern Colorado and 3.4 for the males up to 3.6 kg for the Females in Iowa . As a rule, the female becomes somewhat larger and heavier, although this sexual dimorphism is regionally different. The fur of the prairie hares is usually yellowish-brown to gray-brown on the upper side, the underside is whitish. The species differs from other hares mainly in its white tail with a sandy-brown to gray stripe on the top. This tail color is responsible for the common English name "White-tailed Jackrabbit".

In winter there is a color change of the fur, which is only slightly lighter in the southern regions, but completely white in the north of the distribution area and in higher mountain areas. Only the tips of the ears are black on this winter coat.

distribution

Distribution map of the prairie hare

The distribution area of ​​the prairie hare mainly includes the large prairies in southern Canada and the northwestern Midwest of the USA , but it also inhabits the area of ​​the Rocky Mountains . It extends from the Great Plains of the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta to the east to southwestern Ontario and to the south via Wisconsin to central California as the southern limit of the distribution area.

The height distribution ranges from 40 meters in the lowlands to 4,300 meters in the Rocky Mountains.

Way of life

Like many other hares, prairie hares are nocturnal solitary animals and they spend most of the day in hollows (sassen) or in the shelter of dense vegetation. Your activity usually begins in the late afternoon with activity peaks between 10:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. and ends in the early morning between 3:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. In winter they dig hiding places in snowdrifts or seek shelter in the vegetation.

In order to be able to flee from predators more quickly, they create beaten paths, in the snow also tunnels under the snow cover. They reach a speed of up to 55 km / h, which is associated with the typical hooking of many types of rabbit.

The animals feed on a variety of plants, including grasses, herbs, twigs, and bark. This can lead to large aggregations of the animals with individual numbers between 30 and 150 animals.

Their mating season is between February and July. While they only throw once a year in colder regions, it can be up to four litters in warmer regions. The gestation period (average 42 days) and litter size (one to eleven, average four to five) also depend on the habitat. The young are fleeing nests and are weaned after a month.

Prairie hares have many natural predators, including foxes , coyotes , and birds of prey .

Systematics

The prairie hare is assigned to the real hare (genus Lepus ) as an independent species . In addition to the nominate form L. t. townsendii east of the Rocky Mountains is a second subspecies known with Lepus townsendii campanius in the west.

The species was named after the American naturalist John Kirk Townsend (1809-1851), who was best known as a collector and taxidermist. Townsend maintained a lively exchange with ornithologist and draftsman John James Audubon .

Hazard and protection

The species is rated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) as “Least Concern” due to the size of the population. A decline in the population has been proven regionally, especially in Wyoming , but for the entire distribution area the decline is not so strong that a threat to the population is assumed.

In some areas, especially in the southeast, especially in Kansas , where habitat changes to agricultural areas favored the spread of the donkey hare ( Lepus californicus ), the prairie hare was displaced by it. In the southeast of their range ( Wisconsin , Iowa , Missouri , Kansas and Nebraska ) they have disappeared, as well as from the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem . In the other areas, however, they are relatively common and not threatened, and regionally they are also viewed as agricultural pests, especially when planting alfalfa , soybeans , maize and winter wheat .

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Joseph A. Chapman, John EC Flux (Ed.): Rabbits, Hares and Pikas. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. (PDF; 11.3 MB) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), Gland 1990; P. 88. ISBN 2-8317-0019-1 .
  2. ^ A b c Anna Gosline: Lepus townsendii in the Animal Diversity Web of the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  3. ↑ a b c Lepus townsendii in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012.2. Listed by: AT Smith, CH Johnston, 2008. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  4. ↑ Bo Beolens, Michael Watkins, Michael Grayson: The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0-8018-9304-9 , p. 416.
  5. ↑ Berger J: Undetected species losses, food webs, and ecological baselines: a cautionary tale from the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, USA . In: Oryx . 42, No. 1, 2008, p. 139.

literature

Web links

Commons : Prairie Hare ( Lepus townsendii )  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files