Jackrabbit

Hares and jackrabbits are leporids belonging to the genus Lepus. Hares are classified in the same family as rabbits. They are similar in size and form to rabbits and have similar herbivorous diets, but generally have longer ears and live solitarily or in pairs. Also unlike rabbits, their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth rather than emerging blind and helpless. Most are fast runners. Hare species are native to Africa, Eurasia, North America, and the Japanese archipelago. Five leporid species with 'hare' in their common names are not considered true hares: the hispid hare (Caprolagus hispidus), and four species known as red rock hares (comprising Pronolagus). Conversely, jackrabbits are hares, rather than rabbits. A hare less than one year old is called a leveret. A group of hares is called a 'drove'. Hares are swift animals: The European hare (Lepus europaeus) can run up to 56 km/h (35 mph). The five species of jackrabbits found in central and western North America are able to run at 64 km/h (40 mph), and can leap up to 3 m (10 ft) at a time. Normally a shy animal, the European brown hare changes its behavior in spring, when they can be seen in daytime chasing one another. This appears to be competition between males to attain dominance for breeding. During this spring frenzy, animals of both sexes can be seen 'boxing', one hare striking another with its paws. This notable behavior gives rise to the idiom, mad as a March hare. This is present not only in intermale competition, but among females toward males to prevent copulation. Hares do not bear their young below ground in a burrow as do other leporids, but rather in a shallow depression or flattened nest of grass called a form. Young hares are adapted to the lack of physical protection, relative to that afforded by a burrow, by being born fully furred and with eyes open. They are hence precocial, and are able to fend for themselves soon after birth. By contrast, rabbits are altricial, having young that are born blind and hairless. All rabbits (except the cottontail rabbits) live underground in burrows or warrens, while hares (and cottontail rabbits) live in simple nests above the ground, and usually do not live in groups. Hares are generally larger than rabbits, with longer ears, and have black markings on their fur. Hares have not been domesticated, while rabbits are raised for food and kept as house pets. The domestic pet known as the 'Belgian Hare' is a rabbit that has been selectively bred to resemble a hare. Hares have jointed, or kinetic, skulls, unique among mammals. They have 48 chromosomes while rabbits have 44.