Jack Rabbit

Jack Rabbit

This photo is of a wild White-tailed Jack Rabbit that was TOTALLY cooperative for this photo shoot. :) *

Manual settings: 1/640, F-5.6, ISO 200, handheld

Equipment: Nikon D60, 70-300mm VR and 1.4x teleconverter

Post processing Adobe CS3: Adjusted curves, gently sharpened and slightly cropped for asthetic purpose (very hard to figure out with giant ears)

White-tailed Jack Rabbit: Information copied from Animal Diversity Web
Physical description*: The pelage of Lepus townsendii varies with season and habitat. The upper parts range from yellowish to grayish brown in colour, with white or grey on the underside. The throat and face are somewhat darker with coarser hair. In the northern extent of the range where there is significant snow fall during the year, a pure white colouration is attained with the possibilty of a buffy tint on the face, ears, feet and back. A slight change may be noted in the more southern range where only the sides of the animal become white while the back retains a more buffy-grey tinge. An early to late spring moult reverses this process. As the common name indicates, the tail is always white which may possess a buffy dorsal stripe. Ears of this jackrabbit are rimmed in white and tipped in black year round. The juvenile pelage is similar but paler in colour with more under fur and less developed course guard hairs (Kim, 1987).

White-tailed jackrabbits have a number of other distinct morphological characters which reflect adaptation to their environment and ecology. Enormous ears equipped with generous blood flow are used for heat dissipation in the warmer portions of the range, while they also provide an excellent means of predator detection. L.townsendii have large hind legs which facilitate high jumps and quick escapes from predators (Forsyth,1999).

Like most mammals, white-tailed jackrabbits are nocturnal, feeding mainly from sunset to sunrise. During the day they rest in shallow forms which are dug into the earth 10-20 cm in depth and are usually under some form of plant cover. Elaborate and well travelled trails may be observed that connect forms between often visited feeding sites. In winter snow, forms are replaced by cave-like structures joined with many connecting tunnels.

At birth the young weigh approximately 90-100 grams, have open eyes, full fur, and limited mobility within half an hour. The young begin to forage at approximately 2 weeks of age and are fulled weaned at one month. Sexually maturity is reached by 7 or 8 months though there is little evidence of reproduction until the spring following their birth. (Chapman, Dunn, and Marsh, 1982; Kim,, 1987; Wilson and Ruff, 1999)

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