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    Mammal Atlas Rabbits

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    Earl Trotter
    This document discusses 6 lagomorph species found in Ontario: 1) The Eastern Cottontail, found in southern Ontario and ranging as far north as southern Saskatchewan. 2) The Snowshoe Hare, widespread across Canada south of the tree line, found in boreal forests and subject to population cycles. 3) The Arctic Hare, normally found north of Ontario with one accidental record from Fort Severn. 4) The European Hare, introduced to Ontario from Germany and now found throughout southern Ontario. 5) The White-tailed Jackrabbit, normally found in the midwestern US and prairie provinces with 3 records from northwestern Ontario. 6) General information is provided on each

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    Mammal Atlas Rabbits

    Uploaded by

    Earl Trotter
    63 views6 pages
    This document discusses 6 lagomorph species found in Ontario: 1) The Eastern Cottontail, found in southern Ontario and ranging as far north as southern Saskatchewan. 2) The Snowshoe Hare, widespread across Canada south of the tree line, found in boreal forests and subject to population cycles. 3) The Arctic Hare, normally found north of Ontario with one accidental record from Fort Severn. 4) The European Hare, introduced to Ontario from Germany and now found throughout southern Ontario. 5) The White-tailed Jackrabbit, normally found in the midwestern US and prairie provinces with 3 records from northwestern Ontario. 6) General information is provided on each

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    Rabbit and Hares in Ontario

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    This document discusses 6 lagomorph species found in Ontario: 1) The Eastern Cottontail, found in southern Ontario and ranging as far north as southern Saskatchewan. 2) The Snowshoe Hare, widespread across Canada south of the tree line, found in boreal forests and subject to population cycles. 3) The Arctic Hare, normally found north of Ontario with one accidental record from Fort Severn. 4) The European Hare, introduced to Ontario from Germany and now found throughout southern Ontario. 5) The White-tailed Jackrabbit, normally found in the midwestern US and prairie provinces with 3 records from northwestern Ontario. 6) General information is provided on each

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    63 views6 pages

    Mammal Atlas Rabbits

    Uploaded by

    Earl Trotter
    This document discusses 6 lagomorph species found in Ontario: 1) The Eastern Cottontail, found in southern Ontario and ranging as far north as southern Saskatchewan. 2) The Snowshoe Hare, widespread across Canada south of the tree line, found in boreal forests and subject to population cycles. 3) The Arctic Hare, normally found north of Ontario with one accidental record from Fort Severn. 4) The European Hare, introduced to Ontario from Germany and now found throughout southern Ontario. 5) The White-tailed Jackrabbit, normally found in the midwestern US and prairie provinces with 3 records from northwestern Ontario. 6) General information is provided on each

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 6

    Rabbits and Hares

    Lagomorpha

    Snowshoe Hare: Barry Kent MacKay

    39
    Eastern Cottontail
    Sylvilagus floridanus
    The smallest of the Ontario lagomorphs, the Eastern
    Cottontail is common in southern Ontario and as far north
    as the Magnetawan River. Across Canada, the Eastern
    Cottontail ranges as far north as southern Saskatchewan,
    Manitoba, and southwestern Quebec. In the US, the species
    is found throughout the eastern half of the continent, from
    the Great Lakes south to Mexico.

    The Eastern Cottontail was absent from southern Canada at


    the time of European settlement, entering Canada about
    1860 (Stewart 1982). Eastern Cottontails were common near
    London by 1875 and had expanded north to Ottawa by
    1931.

    The Eastern Cottontail is found in woodlands and open areas


    adjacent to cover.
    .. Judith Eger

    40
    Snowshoe Hare
    Lepus americanus

    The Snowshoe or Varying Hare is widespread across


    Canada south of the tree line. Within Ontario, it has been
    recorded from southcentral Ontario north to Hudson and
    James bays. The Snowshoe Hare is a resident of the Boreal
    Forest but in the southern part of its range, is found in
    cedar and spruce swamps.

    A prolific breeder, Snowshoe Hare populations are subject


    to regular cycles of abundance and scarcity peaking every
    nine or ten years.

    The common name, Snowshoe Hare, refers to this animals


    large, well-furred hind feet, which are a useful adaptation
    for the deep snow of the boreal forest. The species is
    equally well-known as the varying hare, a reference to its
    change in colour from brownish in summer to white in
    winter.
    .. Judith Eger

    41
    Arctic Hare
    Lepus arcticus

    Only one Ontario record exists for Arctic Hare.


    Consequently, the 1966 Fort Severn record should be
    considered accidental. The normal range for this Tundra
    species stretches north from the Great Whale River through
    the Ungava Peninsula, coastal Labrador and Newfoundland.
    Arctic Hares are also found from Churchill, north along
    Hudson Bay, and throughout the Canadian Arctic (Hall and
    Kelson 1959, Peterson 1966).

    42
    European Hare
    Lepus europaeus

    The European Hare is the largest of the Ontario hares and


    rabbits. Native to Europe, the species was introduced to
    Ontario from a stock of nine animals brought from Germany
    to Brantford in 1912. The species was well adapted to the
    new environment and spread throughout southern Ontario as
    far east as Gananoque by the 1950s and north to Ottawa by
    1961 (Dean and de Vos, 1965).

    The European Hare is most common in the southwestern


    part of the province where there is an abundance of its
    preferred habitat: open fields bordered by woodlots or fence
    rows. It is a popular small game species.
    .. Judith Eger

    43
    White-tailed Jackrabbit
    Lepus townsendii

    The White-tailed Jackrabbit is a species of the plains in the


    midwestem US, southern Alberta, Saskatchewan, and
    Manitoba. There are three records of the species in
    northwestern Ontario, two from Rainy River and one from
    Sleeman (a few kilometres east of Rainy River).

    The White-tailed Jackrabbit probably entered Ontario from


    Manitoba or Minnesota as the species extended its range
    north and east of the true prairie as a consequence of the
    land being cleared for agriculture (Jones and Bimey 1988,
    Peterson 1966). The species has been widely introduced and
    has become established in areas with appropriate habitat in
    Wisconsin, excluding the counties bordering the Great
    Lakes. These introductions are not likely to have affected
    the expansion of the White-tailed Jackrabbit into
    northwestern Ontario.
    .. Judith Eger

    44

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