the snow-hare carries a white fur like many other inhabitants of the northern regions in the winter, that the arctic race the whole year over carries.
Shape The Umfärbung is not established seasonally but probably takes place after the temperature-waste in the incipient winter and during the warmer temperatures in the spring. Some forms of the snow-hare therefore alter the fur-color only little or not at all also in the winter: The Irish snow-hare remains the whole winter over in the summer-coloring, therefore bay until dun. In South-Sweden, the Umfärbung only takes place incompletely. The snow-hare resembles the field-hare and also is with this across-devoid of, albeit many descendants are sterile. The shape is the field-hare rounder than this, and that is black-pointed-y ears also in the winter clearly shorter than this the field-hare.
This is a phenomenon, that occurs with many northern animals. The ears (and extremities) are more shortly in the relationship to near relatives from warmer regions, and the body-surface is smaller in the relationship to the volume; the animals therefore work "more approximately." Particularly the shapes of the ice-foxes, red-foxes and desert-foxes are comparable here that possesses a similar gradation of ear-length and body-surface of north to south, like snow, - field - and antelope-hare (prairie-hare).
The diminution of the relative body-surface with the northern animals has the crucial advantage that less heat gets lost. The strongly hairy paws of the snow-hare prevent a sinking in in the soft snow. Another North American type Lepus, that lives in Canada and Alaska, is named even snowshoe-hare (Lepus americanus) because of the big, strongly hairy rear-feet.
Habitat Snow-hares only live in the northern regions of Europe, Asia and North America today, but as well in retreat-areas in Ireland and in the Alps. Here, the snow-hares live above the forest-belt, from the crooked-wood-zone until up to the snow line, therefore from 1500 to approximately 3500 m. The winter over withdraws the snow-hares, however, for itself into the upper forest-region. The Alps-snow-hare (Lepus timidus varronis) is widespread a relic in the ice age one population over whole Europe. The snow-hares of the field-hare are only after the last ice age northward and been repressed into the Alps.
The snow-hare prefers with light forests of passed areas. it lives in the Taiga, especially gladly in with spruces and birches or other soft-woods of over grown Mischwäldern. One finds it north also from the actual forest-zone in the tundra. it occurs also in bogs or reed-continuances and in undergrowth-regions.
The snow-hare more frequently is particularly in the north in small troops and no so "sullen" loner like our field-hare is.
Food The snow-hare assumes different food for himself. it frequently must be content also with a very meager food-offer in its home. So, it eats grass and herbs, but also heather and berries, young instincts of woods as well as bark and branches of foliage-trees.
Reproduction Like all real hares of the type Lepus, also the snow-hare usually doesn't position any Erdbauten. The boys were born on the Erdoberfläche and were looked after here. Only in the north of Taiga and tundra, it uses deeper hollows than throw-camps. The Tragzeit is relatively long with 50 days. The fully developed boys can eat vegetable food already after 9 days. The female tosses a quite different number of boys twice per year. It will tell per throw about up to 12 boys; usually, it is however essentially fewer (2-5). Snow-hares can become more than 8 years old.
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