4/6/2023 0 Comments Arctic fox predators![]() ![]() ![]() In addition to rocks, Arctic hares also find shelter in other natural shelters such as snowdrifts, man-made structures, and even digging their own burrows in snowdrifts up to 188 cm in length. If the rabbits are solitary, they often rest in the shelter of large rocks protecting them from the wind and staying out of sight of predators. When resting, Arctic hares maintain a nearly spherical shape and typically stay in groups, but do not huddle. Behaviorally, the Arctic hare keeps warm in winter using body orientation, posture, and seeking or digging shelter. The white fur of Arctic hares, in addition to their camouflage benefits in the winter, have a high reflectance which may prevent excessive heat gain during the day. In addition, the Arctic hare has high locomotive efficiency combined with long periods of resting and shorter bouts of foraging which enables it to conserve energy and survive on its low diet intake. The lowered metabolic rate also allows the Arctic hare to save energy, making it adaptive for its cold and barren habitat. Despite a 17% - 38% lower than expected basal metabolic rate, the Arctic hare is able to maintain a body temperature comparable to other lagomorphs (38.9 degrees C) because of its low surface area to volume ratio and high insulation. The Arctic hare has many physiological features that are adaptive to its extreme environment. Arctic hares have been reported to occasionally eat meat, including fish and the stomach contents of eviscerated caribou. Although previously believed to still be primarily willow, dryas, and grasses, recent studies show that their diet becomes dominated by legumes, constituting 70% of their diet in the summer. ![]() ![]() Arctic hare diets are more diverse in summer. Arctic hares predominantly consume saxifrage, crowberry, and dwarf willow, but can also eat a variety of other foods, including lichens and mosses, blooms, other species' leaves, twigs, and roots, mountain sorrel and macroalgae (seaweed). Arctic hares feed primarily on woody plants, with arctic willow constituting 95% of their diet year-round. The Arctic hare is a herbivore, specifically a folivore. However, the Arctic hares in the far north of Canada, where summer is very short, remain white all year round. This seasonal moulting also enables other Arctic animals, including ermine and ptarmigan, to remain camouflaged as the environment changes. In Newfoundland and Southern Labrador, the Arctic hare changes its coat color, moulting and growing new fur, from brown or grey in the summer to white in the winter. The Arctic hare may be found at elevations from sea level to 900 m (3,000 ft). The Arctic hare is well adapted to conditions found in the tundras, plateaus, and treeless coasts of this region, including cold weather and frozen precipitation. The Arctic hare is distributed over the northernmost regions of Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands and Northern Canada, including Ellesmere Island, and farther south in Labrador and Newfoundland. The body mass of this species is typically between 2.5–5.5 kg (6–12 lb), though large individuals can weigh up to 7 kg (15 lb). Typically, this species measures from 43 to 70 cm (17 to 28 in) long, not counting a tail length of 4.5 to 10 cm (1.8 to 3.9 in). The Arctic hare is one of the largest living lagomorphs. ( January 2022)Īrctic explorer John Ross described the Arctic hare in 1819. ![]()
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