This is the species you’re most likely to see on your national park vacation. Black-tailed jackrabbit © Mark Gunn / Flickr Black-tailed Jackrabbit Some are among the most abundant mammals in the western United States. Enjoy the bounding leaps as those big ears move through the low brush. Sometimes they will jump up just a few feet away from you. You will inevitably bump some, especially if you’re in an area with a high jackrabbit density. Look for anything that looks out of place. Look for patches of lighter fur (several species have lighter-colored sides). Often you can spot an animal if it’s sitting up and alert. Walk very, very slowly through the brush, scanning out ahead. Note where you have seen them at night and return. You can see jackrabbits during the day, too. A “night safari” with a spotlight or good flashlight will often reveal lots of jackrabbits (be sure to check local regulations on this activity). You can often see animals sitting alongside the road, alert for danger. It’s far better to slowly cruise quiet roads at dawn and dusk. © Rick Cameron / Flickr Spotting JackrabbitsĪs previously mentioned, you’re probably most likely to spot jackrabbits darting across a desert highway at night. Furthermore, the blood vessels can widen (a process called vasodilation), allowing more warm blood to circulate to the ears for even greater heat loss.”Īt temperatures above 86 degrees Fahrenheit, a jackrabbit’s ears can “shed all of the animal’s excess heat.” A black-tailed jackrabbit blends into its surroundings. As described by National Geographic, “A jackrabbit’s big ears provide a large surface area for heat exchange. The big ears allow jackrabbits to hear predators approaching at a difference. They’re an impressive adaptation that helps the jackrabbit thrive in often-harsh environments. When someone sees a jackrabbit for the first time, the response is predictable: “Look at those ears.” © Cataloging Nature / Flickr About Those Ears They can jump 20 feet in a bound and race away at 30 miles per hour. These animals are built for a speedy getaway. They are quite active at dawn and dusk, and you will often see them darting across the road during the night. They do need over, of course, and can be surprisingly tricky to spot, especially during the day. Think sagebrush flats, deserts and grassy plains. Jackrabbits are critters of relatively open country. I’ll often find depressions used by black-tailed jackrabbits dug out under big sagebrush. Hares do not use burrows like many rabbit species do. Rabbits, on the other hand, are born hairless and largely helpless. Their babies are born fully furred and are able to scamper around within hours. Hares tend to be considerably larger animals. There are other differences between rabbits and hares. (The desert cottontail also has large ears, but it is a small animal, the size of a typical backyard rabbit). The big ears, long legs and large ears of any jackrabbit species are unmistakable. Depending on the species, jackrabbits typically weigh from 5 to 9 pounds, and can be up to two feet long. Jackrabbit ranges overlap with that of a number of rabbit species in North America, but they’re pretty easy to tell apart just based on size alone. Both rabbits and hares are members of the mammalian order Lagomorpha (as are pikas). © Chris Helzer / TNC Meet the Jackrabbitsįirst things first: Jackrabbits are not rabbits. Let’s take a look at these fascinating creatures and where to find them. There are 6 species of jackrabbits that live in Mexico, a small part of Canada and a swath of the western United States. But most road trippers will only encounter them as roadkill. Many visitors would like to see one and figure it will be an easy task. They’re familiar animals and feature prominently as tourist kitsch. I’ve come to think of them as the arid American West’s version of arid Australia’s kangaroos. Getting a clear observation, let alone a photograph, will test your field skills. They’re a common animal and yet not as easy to see as you might think. I always enjoy seeing these creatures in the sagebrush and other brushy habitat near my southern Idaho home. I see a creature make a seemingly impossible leap. I’m walking through the high desert scrub when the ground seems to explode under my feet.
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