Arctic Hare
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Arctic Hare[1] | ||||||||||||||
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| Lepus arcticus Ross, 1819 |
The Arctic Hare (Lepus arcticus) is a hare which is largely adapted to polar and mountainous habitats. It was once considered a subspecies of the Mountain Hare, but it is now regarded as a separate species.
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[edit] Range
It is distributed over the tundra regions of Greenland and the northernmost parts of Canada as well as Alaska. In the far north, the hare becomes white during the winter to blend with the snow, similar to the ptarmigan and turns a gray-brown color during the summer months to blend with the mud and rock.
[edit] Size
It is an average of 55–70 cm (22–28 in) long, and it weighs about 4–5.5 kg (9–12 lb). It has small ears to reduce its surface area to volume ratio.
[edit] Diet
The Arctic Hare mainly eats woody plants. It eats buds, berries, leaves and grass.[3] It has a keen sense of smell and may dig for willow twigs under the snow.
[edit] Subspecies
There are four subspecies of this hare:
- Lepus arcticus arcticus
- Lepus arcticus bangsii
- Lepus arcticus groenlandicus
- Lepus arcticus monstrabilis
[edit] References
- ^ Hoffmann, Robert S.; Andrew T. Smith (2005-11-16). Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds). ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd edition ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 195-196. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3.
- ^ Lagomorph Specialist Group (1996). Lepus arcticus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 2006-05-06. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern
- ^ Best, Troy L.; Henry, Travis Hill (1994). "Lepus arcticus". Mammalian Species 457: 1–9. doi:.
