The Arctic hare (Lepus arcticus) is a highly adapted hare to living in the Arctic tundra and other icy biomes. They can travel together with many other hares and can run up to 60 kilometers per hour (40 mph).
Arctic hares look like rabbits but have shorter ears, are taller when standing, and, unlike rabbits, can thrive in extreme cold. Their front and hind legs are large and fluffy. The color of the coat depends on the season of the year, while the fur on the underbelly and chest always remains gray. Thus, in winter the fur grows long. It becomes white, thicker, and softer by feeling with black bunches on the edges of their ears. Molting coincides with the summer season, during which the fur becomes brownish-grey to gray-blue. Face, feet, ears, shoulders, legs, and, finally, back: molt one by one. Males usually start molting after females.
Arctic hares’ area of distribution covers a vast territory, stretching from Greenland and the northernmost regions of Canada to Newfoundland and Labrador. They live in the tundras, plateaus, and treeless coasts of this region, including cold weather and frozen precipitation.
Arctic hares are nocturnal animals that prefer leading solitary lifestyles. However, to survive under extreme, Arctic weather conditions, hares congregate in groups. Here they get warm with each other’s bodies. Also, they feed in groups of 10-60 individuals in each one, though in far north regions they gather in large groups of up to 300 individuals. Feeling danger, a hare rises on its hind legs while keeping its front legs lifted and close to the chest. They stand still in this position, listening carefully to any rustling around. They can also hop away in this position. These hares are excellent swimmers and, like all hares, elusive runners. They dig through the snow to get food.
Arctic hares are herbivores (folivores), meaning that they mainly feed on plants. However, they enjoy eating willows and flowers as well. Due to the lack of suitable food in the northernmost regions, these animals dig through the snowpack to get lichens, plants, and mosses. Their diet includes also rare leaves, buds, and roots of plants.
Arctic hares are polygynous, meaning that a male mates with more than one female during each breeding season. The mating period takes place in spring, usually from April to May, while the gestation period takes about 50 days. As a result, in May-June, a female gives birth to 2-8 youngsters. Each mating pair has its defined territory. Young hares are born fully furred and with eyes open. They are precocial and are able to fend for themselves soon after birth. Weaning usually occurs at the age of 8-9 weeks and the leverets stay within the mother's home range until they can survive on their own. They are almost full size by late July (some weeks after birth) and breed for the first time after a year of age.
Major threats for the Arctic hare are habitat loss in areas, overlapping with human settlements, and excessive hunting. As for the latter, they attract hunters for their pelts as well as meat. The majority of the hunters are indigenous people of the region. Moreover, in the case of global warming threats are likely to increase.
The population number of the Arctic hare is not officially estimated. However, this widespread species is evidently not endangered, assuming that IUCN has classified the Arctic Hare in the IUCN Red List as Least Concern.
Arctic hares are important dispersers of seeds and an important food source for local predators.
