THE SNOWSHOE HARE
copied from the February 1953 issue of the
Pennsylvania Game News.
copied from the February 1953 issue of the
Pennsylvania Game News.
photo by J. Ewing
 |
| Cover Painting by Ned Smith. |
Pennsylvania's most unusual game animal, the snowshoe hare, is perhaps best known for his variable fur coat. White in winter, brown in summer, the large hare is one of the true turncoats of the Keystone State. Recent studies indicate the transformation is caused by the increase or decrease in the length of the days as the seasons change throughout the year. From March to May the lengthening days cause gradual shedding of the pure white winter hair which leaves the snowshoe hare with a splotched coat, then finally with a pure brownish-gray summer fur. The process is reversed from late September to December.
Snowshoe hare are named for their large hind feet which are an invaluable aid in deep snow and which leave a track very much like that of manmade snowshoes. And as any hare hunter can testify, these rabbits are really capable of making tracks in the snow. They gain full speed in a remarkable short time, travel almost 30 miles per hour, and dodge like a Monday morning wingback.
Hunted heavily throughout the northeastern states, the snowshoe has a small, but enthusiastic, following in Pennsylvania. Here his natural range has been steadily decreasing. Too many deer in the past few decades, and their over-browsing the young forest trees and shrubs which are a mainstay in the snowshoe's menu, have ruined most of his Pennsylvania home. Keystone State hunters bagged only 1506 of these white rabbits last winter.
Like the grouse which share his forest home, the snowshoe hare is famous for his population cycles, the "ups" and "downs" of his abundance occurring at nine to eleven year intervals. This variation in numbers is still one of great unsolved mysteries of nature, despite the most intensive research for many years.
Snowshoes seem to be regular homebodies, their woodland wanderings seldom exceeding 20 or 30 acres. Although they do not love water, they often surprise their pursuers by swimming across small streams or ponds. The mating season starts in March and about a month later the first litters, usually numbering three or four little snowshoes, make their appearance . The young have their eyes open a short time after birth and they are fully furred. Snowshoes occasionally utter loud squeals or screams when mortally afraid and often express anger by thumping loudly with their hind feet.
Hunted avidly by many Pennsylvania sportsmen, pursued relentlessly by such predators as the great horned owl, snowy owl, weasel and wildcat, and beset by mysterious cycles of abundance, the varying hare somehow has survived them all and still continues to leave his huge or out-sized snowshoe tracks across Pennsylvania's snow covered woodlands year after year.
Snowshoe hare are named for their large hind feet which are an invaluable aid in deep snow and which leave a track very much like that of manmade snowshoes. And as any hare hunter can testify, these rabbits are really capable of making tracks in the snow. They gain full speed in a remarkable short time, travel almost 30 miles per hour, and dodge like a Monday morning wingback.
Hunted heavily throughout the northeastern states, the snowshoe has a small, but enthusiastic, following in Pennsylvania. Here his natural range has been steadily decreasing. Too many deer in the past few decades, and their over-browsing the young forest trees and shrubs which are a mainstay in the snowshoe's menu, have ruined most of his Pennsylvania home. Keystone State hunters bagged only 1506 of these white rabbits last winter.
Like the grouse which share his forest home, the snowshoe hare is famous for his population cycles, the "ups" and "downs" of his abundance occurring at nine to eleven year intervals. This variation in numbers is still one of great unsolved mysteries of nature, despite the most intensive research for many years.
Snowshoes seem to be regular homebodies, their woodland wanderings seldom exceeding 20 or 30 acres. Although they do not love water, they often surprise their pursuers by swimming across small streams or ponds. The mating season starts in March and about a month later the first litters, usually numbering three or four little snowshoes, make their appearance . The young have their eyes open a short time after birth and they are fully furred. Snowshoes occasionally utter loud squeals or screams when mortally afraid and often express anger by thumping loudly with their hind feet.
Hunted avidly by many Pennsylvania sportsmen, pursued relentlessly by such predators as the great horned owl, snowy owl, weasel and wildcat, and beset by mysterious cycles of abundance, the varying hare somehow has survived them all and still continues to leave his huge or out-sized snowshoe tracks across Pennsylvania's snow covered woodlands year after year.
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