Snowshoe hare

species of mammal

The snowshoe hare is Lepus americanus, found in North America. It is a kind of hare adapted to cold climates. It is white in colour in the winter.

Summer coat
Winter coat

A major predator of the snowshoe hare is the Canada lynx. There are historical records of animals caught by fur hunters over hundreds of years. The records show show the lynx and hare numbers rising and falling in a cycle. This has made the hare a case study of the relationship between numbers of predators and their prey.[1][2][3]

References

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  1. Krebs, C. J.; Boonstra, R.; Boutin, S.; Sinclair, A. R. (2001). "What Drives the 10-year Cycle of Snowshoe Hares?" (PDF). AIBS Bulletin. 51 (1): 25–35.
  2. Krebs, Charles & Myers, Judy (12 July 2014). "The Snowshoe Hare 10-year Cycle – A Cautionary Tale". Ecological Rants. University of British Columbia. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  3. "Predators and their prey". BBC Bitesize. BBC. Retrieved 7 October 2015.