The American Desert Hare

Chris Buchanan - UNT Integrative Studies Major

It is rather chilly this afternoon, in the last week of February. I am sitting in my Mandala, listening to the loud dripping sound of melting snow as it continuously runs down the brick walls of the Environmental Science building at the University of North Texas. It has been raining and snowing for over three days but finally came to a stop this afternoon. The temperature has risen dramatically over the last few hours and most of the snow and ice melted away. Most of the trees in my Mandala have lost all of their leaves and the soil is thoroughly soaked from melted snow.

Photo from Wikipedia.org.

I look around in order to identify more animals that are native to my Mandala and the first species that I notice is a statue of a black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus Californicus). The black-tailed jackrabbit is also known as the American desert hare and is commonly found in the western United States and Mexico. And their habitats often include open prairies, shrub lands, and deserts. The black-tailed jackrabbit is the third largest North American hare, behind the antelope jackrabbit and the white-tailed jackrabbit. It does not migrate or hibernate during the winter and uses the same habitat, of about 0.5-1 square miles, year-round. The black-tail has very long ears, powerful hind legs, and can grow up to two feet in length. Their diet consists of green vegetation, including shrubs, small trees, grasses, and forbs. Rabbits are an important food source for many of the larger carnivores that share the environment like hawks, owls, dogs, coyotes, foxes, and bobcats. The young rabbits are preyed upon by mink, skunks, long-tailed weasels, gopher snakes, and domestic cats.