Mexican Volcano Rabbits, for example, are extremely endangered and should never be harvested, though they look much like regular cottontail rabbits. There's more than one kind of rabbit and not all should be hunted. Over the majority of their distribution, snowshoe hares have white pelage (fur) during winter, and molt to brown pelage during summer.Learn to identify the rabbits you’ll be hunting. Due to extent of their range, snowshoe hares occupy a breadth of habitat types and climate regimes, but mostly occur in forested ecosystems that provide adequate escape cover and forage. Snowshoe hares occupy all of Idaho except the Snake River Plain and Owyhee Uplands. Both cottontails and pygmy rabbits utilize burrows throughout the year for protection and parturition. In Idaho, mountain cottontails prefer habitats with ample amounts of brush and rocky cover, such as dense sagebrush, juniper thickets, thick forb and riparian vegetation, as well as forest edge habitats. Cottontails can occupy a diverse range of habitats, including disturbed areas and transitional habitat zones. Mountain cottontails range throughout much of southern Idaho and western Clearwater Region. Some hare populations can influence reproductive success of their predators, which include bobcats, coyotes, and golden eagles. Their intermediate size and abundance put them in a position to support a community of small- to medium-sized predators. Rabbits and hares make up the base of many predator-prey systems. While lagomorphs are adaptable and suited to a wide variety of habitats and ecological conditions, their annual mortality rates can approach 90% in some populations. Predation and disease which result from extreme fluctuations in environmental factors, and exhaustion of available plant resources, are primary agents of mortality. Snowshoe hare reproductive output is more variable than most hares, reproducing less than 4 times a year, with litter size fluctuating from 1 to 14.Ĭorrespondingly, lagomorphs can also experience high rates of annual mortality. In comparison, cottontails vary in annual production of young from approximately 10 to 35/female. Annual production for most hare species is relatively constant at approximately 10 young/female. Rabbits and hares have potential for extremely high rates of annual reproduction. Two other hare species, white-tailed jackrabbit and black-tailed jackrabbit, are classified as predatory wildlife in Idaho. Mountain or Nuttall’s cottontails, pygmy rabbits, and snowshoe hares are classified as upland game animals. Idaho has 2 species of rabbits and 3 species of hares. In contrast, hares produce precocial young, which are fully haired, with open eyes, and can move shortly after birth. Rabbits have altricial young, meaning they are born essentially helpless, with no hair, and are blind. Rabbits and hares are largely distinguished by the condition in which their young are born. In much of North America, the eastern cottontail is still an extremely popular game animal. Today they remain the mainstay of regulated hunting in many European countries.
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Rabbit and hare hunting date back thousands of years in Europe.
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Harvest of lagomorphs for both regulated and commercial use is widespread.
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Rabbits and hares are members of a group of mammals known as lagomorphs, which are found throughout the world.