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 The outer fur of this Arctic hare (in winter pelage) acts as a wind break, the inner fur as insulation.
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Characteristics
The Basics | Colour | Fur | Feet | Skull and Teeth
| Recycling: Reingestion | The Senses | Locomotion
The Basics
The Arctic hare is a heavyweight in the hare family. Adults
weigh, on average, 4 to 5 kg (9 to 11 lb.), and they are
longer than 70 cm (23 in.) from the nose to the tip of the
tail. Females tend to be slightly bigger than males. Otherwise,
males and females look so similar that they are difficult
to tell apart at a distance. During the breeding season and
the nursing period, males and females can be more easily
identified by their behaviour.
Colour
In winter, the fur of the Arctic hare is bright white, except
for black tips on the ears. The white pelage blends perfectly
with a snowy background. This security of camouflage probably
accounts for their well-known
lack of fear at this time of
year, when they are often so tame that they can be approached
very closely.
In mid-summer, when their camouflage is not as effective,
Arctic hares are wary and difficult to approach. In the High
Arctic, where summers are short (six to eight weeks), a sandy
brown or grey wash appears on the nose, forehead and ears,
and occasionally on the back. The predominant colour, however,
remains the snowy white of winter, which makes High-Arctic
Arctic hares starkly visible against a snow-free background
and therefore more vulnerable to predators. In the more southern
reaches of their range (including Baffin Island, Nunavut),
where the summer is somewhat longer, the white coat changes
to brown with blue-grey tones, while the tail and parts of
the ears and legs remain white. |
