Snowshoe hare: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the snowshoe hare lives – recorded in 3 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Lepus americanus
Group	Rabbits, hares & pikas
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	3 countries
Continents	North America
Class	Mammal
Order	Lagomorpha
Family	Leporidae

Where does the snowshoe hare live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the snowshoe hare in 3 countries and territories across North America.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the snowshoe hare endangered?

The snowshoe hare’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the snowshoe hare?

The snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) is a mammal in the order Lagomorpha and the family Leporidae, genus Lepus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the snowshoe hare

The snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus), also called the varying hare or snowshoe rabbit, is a species of hare found in North America. The "snowshoe" moniker refers to the hare's large hind feet, which prevent it from sinking into soft snow, much like snowshoes.

The hare has two seasonal coats which aid in camouflaging the animal. In summer, the hare is covered in short, brown fur; in winter this is exchanged for a longer coat of white fur. The name "varying hare" refers to this seasonal change in appearance.

A major predator of the snowshoe hare is the Canada lynx. Historical records of animals caught by fur hunters over decades show the lynx and hare numbers rising and falling in a cycle, which has made the hare known to biology students worldwide as a case study of the relationship between numbers of predators and their prey.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Snowshoe hare (revision 1379114034), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q81063 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).