Last week we welcomed three new snowshoe hares to the Perkins Wildlife Center. They were born in captivity just two months ago and were in need of a place to live. Many times when a wild animal is raised in captivity it becomes too friendly or too used to people. Since these animals were raised by humans and never learned how to be “wild” hares they were not able to be released. The museum is now their permanent home and we are very happy to have them. Snowshoe hares are interesting animals that allow us to educate our visitors on what most think are “just rabbits.” Although they belong to the same family, snowshoe hares are quite different. For example, rabbits are altricial, born helpless, hairless and blind. Hares are what are called precocial and they are born ready to go, with both vision and fur. Soon after a hare is born it is ready to live on its own. Both are herbivores but rabbits tend to eat softer plant matter such as grasses and stems, whereas hares prefer to eater harder plant matter like bark, twigs and buds.
Snowshoe hares are one of Ohio’s endangered mammal species and their decreasing populations are becoming even more of a concern with climate change. The fur of a snowshoe hare changes from brown in the spring to white in the winter. This camouflage, along with their “snowshoe” like feet to help them stay above the snow when they hop, is essential in keeping them safe from predators. This change in fur color occurs not based on temperature changes but on the amount of light in the day. As the days get shorter in the winter and there is less daylight, it triggers a hare's coat to start changing white. A snowshoe hare's coat will change color seasonally regardless of what the weather is doing. If snowfall starts later and/or melts earlier in the season there are fewer places for the hares to hide. A white hare against a green and brown background makes it easy prey. The hare might think that it is camouflaged, but it is not, making it much more vulnerable to predators. Although snowshoe hares are rarely seen in Ohio they are very common throughout the northern forests of North America and also in Canada.
Hurry to the museum and visit the hares as their coats begin to change to winter white. You can learn lots more about snowshoe hares and other native Ohio wildlife at the Perkins Wildlife Center and Woods Garden!
Melissa Terwilliger
CMNH Wildlife Specialist
