Jackrabbits are mammals in the related group, like rabbits. All jackrabbits are hares. Hares are bigger than rabbits, and they generally have taller hind legs and longer ears. Jackrabbits were named because of their ears, which first caused some people to have mentioned them as “jackass rabbits.” The writer Mark Twain brought this name to fame by using it in his book western adventure, in which he describes the hare animal as a jackass rabbit, on account of the hare’s ears looking as though they belonged to a donkey. They are born with fur and grow to be bigger and larger than ordinary rabbits.  Jackrabbits can get as high as two feet tall, or nearly half the height of a primary school kid. Later on, this term was decreased to jackrabbit.

There are six other jackrabbit species: Antelope Jackrabbit, Black-tailed Jackrabbit, White-sided Jackrabbit, Tehuantepec Jackrabbit, Black Jackrabbit, and White-tailed Jackrabbit,  all located in central and western North America. They are fast animals and able to reach 40 miles an hour, and their powerful legs can move them in leaps of more than ten feet. They use these leaps and a spiral running habit to avoid many predators.

In this article, we will look into Jackrabbits’ lifespan, lifestyle, and differences between jackrabbits and ordinary rabbits with some other knowledge and whether they are worth your time and money or not.

Where do Jackrabbits live?

Jackrabbits live in North America, usually in the central and western parts of the region, like the United States. They make their homes in the wide-open plains, like sands and prairies. A prairie is a large, flat area of the field. Jackrabbits usually live alone. During the day, jackrabbits camouflage in low places. Jackrabbits are so night-loving, so they use the nighttime to hunt for food. In the wintertime, jackrabbits may burrow below snow to stay protected from predators.

What Do Jackrabbits Eat?

Jackrabbits are severe vegetarians. Eating a great variety of herbs and shrubs. During the spring and summer, they feed four-leaved, alfalfa, and other greens. During the strong fall and winter periods, they are woody and dried plants. Jackrabbits are herbivores. They leave their relaxing spots at twilight to feed on tough grasses, leaves, and twigs. They will also eat sagebrush and cacti at night. Water conservation is achieved by the consumption of food twice. Jackrabbits hunt for food beginning in the mornings and late in the evenings, sleeping in the shade during the day in shallow holes.

Jackrabbits are coprophagic, meaning they eat their waste. When eating their waste the second time, they can absorb more of the moisture and nutrition that was yearned in the first digestive process. Jackrabbits unusually have to drink and get most of their water from the plants they eat. Jackrabbits can have as many as one full-grown cow in one day. Occasionally, they raid products and cause huge waste.

How big is a Jackrabbit?

Jackrabbits may reach a maximum length of 24 inches (61 cm), weigh up to 8 pounds (3.6 kg), and live up to five years. Their strong back legs can drive them across the landscape and their leaps can pass 20 feet (6 m). Females and males look alike but females manage to be a little larger.

Are Jackrabbits aggressive?

Aggressive behavior among Jackrabbits is rare, but males are identified to “box” with one another. This behavior, identified by standing up on the hind legs and hitting with the forelimbs, along with ear-biting is the most aggressive form of social behavior. Several males may battle aggressively for the attention of a female by charging at each other, jumping, and pressing.

The most obvious reason a rabbit or hares will attack a person is that they are scared. While a rabbit’s first skill will be to run away and hide from anything that terrifies them, they can simply and quickly become aggressive and attack or push if they feel trapped. Most rabbits or hares who regularly attack humans out of fear have seen that their aggressive behaviors will get people to go away. At first, they likely turned to lunge and bite out of desperation, feeling that there was no place to run. Following the aggressive behaviors that worked to get people to go away the first time, the rabbit learned to attack people more quickly. Eventually, this behavior becomes a way of making the rabbit aggressive to people all the time.

What’s the average lifespan of a Jackrabbit?

The average lifespan for the  Jackrabbit is 2-3 years, but they can live 5-6 years in captivity. They are classified as More under Risk or least concern. By 8 months of age, jackrabbits can possess, their own young. They are perceived to live up to 8 years in the wilderness with an average lifespan of 2 to 6 years.

Do Jackrabbits carry diseases?

Yes. Tularemia is a contagious illness caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis. Rabbits and hares are weak to the disease and a large portion of a community can die during outbreaks of the disease. Rabbits and hares are the main species for tularemia in North America. In the wild, the pathogen is breathed in; the infected animals’ bronchi, lungs, spleen, liver, and lymph nodes will show lesions. People and their pets can become sick from tularemia by coming into contact with infected dead or sick and ill animals through animal bites and exposure to polluting blood or raw meat.

Tularemia can also be spread by the bite of an infected arthropod. Examples, ticks, biting flies, exposure to contaminated water or soil, and inhalation of bacteria. One in 10 cases of tularemia in people is reported each year. To stop leaks to tularemia, don’t touch dead or ill animals and avoid animal bites, tick, and deer fly bites and avoid direct bare-hand connection with blood and raw meat from wild animals. Don’t drink untreated water in areas where tularemia is recognized to occur in wild animals.

What is the difference between a Rabbit and a Jackrabbit?

The difference between a rabbit and a jackrabbit is a simple fact that the jackrabbit is not a rabbit at all, it’s a hare. Jackrabbits are native to North and Central America and contain six of about 30 hare species globally. The long ears of the jackrabbit recalled some people of donkeys, as they were originally referred to as jackass rabbits.

Hares are typically larger than rabbits, with longer ears and legs, the latter letting them outrun enemies in the deserts and prairies they call home, with their short legs and choice of brushy habitats, preferring to dive into the cover of a nearby burrow to avoid growing a tasty meal. Incidentally, another similarity between rabbits and hares is that some types of rabbits occupy burrows, but hares do not. 

One of the most interesting differences between hares and rabbits is the situation of the babies at birth. Young hares, called leverets, are aborning fully furred, eyes open, and ready to hop around a few minutes after being born. Baby rabbits or young rabbits, known as kits or kittens, are born naked and with eyes sealed.

Do Jackrabbits turn white in winter?

Most jackrabbits, to cope with the changes in their situation over the year, change their color to suit the season. As autumn days grow shorter and colder, several of the hares shed their brown fur for coats of bright white, which produces camouflage in their snowy wintertime habitats. However, while white-winter hares rule, in areas where winter snow is less extensive some hares remain brown year-round.  

Nevertheless, the difference between winter-white and winter-brown hares was not found to be a product of a recent variation, but rather the introduction of generative material from other species such as the black-tailed jackrabbit, which does not change its color may have let them endure in less snowy areas.

Final Thought

In conclusion, Jackrabbits are interesting animals. Through reading and studying their movement, diet, description, habitat, life cycle, we hope that you can learn and understand how jackrabbits live and help them survive and not become extinct.

https://www.rabbitproducersassociation.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Jackrabbits-2.jpghttps://www.rabbitproducersassociation.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Jackrabbits-2-150x150.jpgFizleenUncategorizedJackrabbits are mammals in the related group, like rabbits. All jackrabbits are hares. Hares are bigger than rabbits, and they generally have taller hind legs and longer ears. Jackrabbits were named because of their ears, which first caused some people to have mentioned them as “jackass rabbits.” The writer...All you need to know about Netherland Dwarf Rabbit