White-sided Jackrabbit (Lepus callotis) lives in desert grasslands across Southwest North America. It feeds on grasses and leaves. Its conservation status is Vulnerable.
Fascinating facts about the White-sided Jackrabbit
- White-sided jackrabbits dig "forms" that are on average 37 cm long, 18.3 cm wide and 6.3 cm deep, and line them with dense grasses. When a predator appears, they spring into high, long leaps, flashing their white sides as a warning signal. The elaborate burrows also let them hide their young.
- During the breeding season, a male and female white-sided jackrabbit stay within roughly 5 m (16 ft) of each other, forming a pair bond that lasts from mid-April to mid-August and can extend to October. The male defends the female from rivals, and the pair often moves together. This partnership is especially important because the species lives at low densities across its range.
- White-sided jackrabbits weigh between 1.5 kg and 2.3 kg (3.3-5.1 lb) and measure 43-60 cm (17-24 in) in body length, with hind legs up to 30 cm (12 in) long. Their large ears (5.1-15.2 cm) and long hind limbs, while the striking white fur on their sides acts like a flashing flag when they leap, confusing predators such as bobcats, coyotes and hawks that hunt in the same grassland habitats.
- In 1993 researchers counted only one white-sided jackrabbit per 32 ha of grassland, showing how tightly their populations cling to areas with dense, uniform cover. When grasses dominate the landscape, the hares can pull up blades with their forepaws, chew them upright, and leave small fecal piles in the foraging depressions they create.
- Climate models predict the jackrabbit's range will shrink by 80 % by 2050, squeezing the grasslands of New Mexico and central Mexico. This loss threatens the 58 individuals counted in New Mexico in 2010, down from 400 in 1976, and the roughly 2,100 animals left across the whole species' historic range. As their habitat disappears, the hare faces higher road-kill rates from Border Patrol traffic and competition from the more adaptable black-tailed jackrabbit.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeSouthwest North America
HabitatDesert grasslands
DietGrasses and leaves
About the White-sided Jackrabbit
In the arid expanses of the American Southwest, the White-sided Jackrabbit roams with an air of quiet resilience, its large brown eyes ever-vigilant as it navigates a landscape of scrub and rock with long, powerful leaps. With each bound, its distinctive white-striped fur seems to shimmer in the desert light, a fleeting glimpse of elegance in a harsh and unforgiving environment. As it moves through the shadows, this vulnerable creature embodies a fragile beauty, its very existence a testament to the enduring power of life in the harshest of terrains.
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