The black-tailed jackrabbit (''Lepus californicus''), also known as the American desert hare, is a common

hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The ge ...

of the western United States and Mexico, where it is found at elevations from sea level up to . Reaching a length around , and a weight from , the black-tailed jackrabbit is one of the largest North American hares. Black-tailed jackrabbits occupy mixed shrub-grassland terrains. Their breeding depends on the location; it typically peaks in spring, but may continue all year round in warm climates. Young are born fully furred with eyes open; they are well camouflaged and are mobile within minutes of birth, thus females do not protect or even stay with the young except during nursing. The average litter size is around four, but may be as low as two and as high as seven in warm regions. The black-tailed jackrabbit does not migrate or hibernate during winter and uses the same habitat of 0.4 to 1.2 mi² (1–3 km²) year-round. Its diet is composed of various shrubs, small trees, grasses, and forbs. Shrubs generally comprise the bulk of fall and winter diets, while grasses and forbs are used in spring and early summer, but the pattern and plant species vary with climate. The black-tailed jackrabbit is an important prey species for

raptor Raptor or RAPTOR may refer to: Animals The word "raptor" refers to several groups of bird-like dinosaurs which primarily capture and subdue/kill prey with their talons. * Raptor (bird) or bird of prey, a bird that primarily hunts and feeds on v ...

s and carnivorous mammals, such as eagles, hawks, owls, coyotes, foxes, and wild cats. The hares host many

ectoparasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...

s including fleas, ticks,

lice Louse ( : lice) is the common name for any member of the clade Phthiraptera, which contains nearly 5,000 species of wingless parasitic insects. Phthiraptera has variously been recognized as an order, infraorder, or a parvorder, as a result o ...

, and

mites Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods). Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari, but genetic analysis does not show clear evid ...

; for this reason, hunters often avoid collecting them. Black-tailed_jackrabbit

Description

Like other jackrabbits, the black-tailed jackrabbit has distinctive long ears, and the long powerful rear legs characteristic of hares. Reaching a length about , and a weight from , the black-tailed jackrabbit is the third-largest North American jackrabbit, after the

antelope jackrabbit The antelope jackrabbit (''Lepus alleni'') is a species of North American hare found in southern Arizona and northwestern Mexico that occupies dry desert areas. Behaviour It is most active during twilight ( crepuscular) and during the night ( no ...

and the

white-tailed jackrabbit The white-tailed jackrabbit (''Lepus townsendii''), also known as the prairie hare and the white jack, is a species of hare found in western North America. Like all hares and rabbits, it is a member of the family Leporidae of order Lagomorpha ...

. Additionally, the much more northerly Arctic hare and Alaskan hare are somewhat larger than the jackrabbit members of the hare genus. The black-tailed jackrabbit's dorsal fur is agouti (dark buff peppered with black), and its undersides and the insides of its legs are creamy white. The ears are black-tipped on the outer surfaces, and unpigmented inside. The ventral surface of the tail is grey to white, and the black dorsal surface of the tail continues up the spine for a few inches to form a short, black stripe. The females are larger than males, with no other significant differences.

Taxonomy and distribution

Although 17 subspecies are recognized, this number may be excessive. Using cluster analysis of anatomical characters, Dixon and others found that black-tailed jackrabbit subspecies separated into two distinct groups that are geographically separated west and east of the Colorado Rocky Mountains and the Colorado River. They suggested only two infrataxa are warranted: the western subspecies ''L. c. californicus'' and the eastern subspecies ''L. c. texianus''. The black-tailed jackrabbit is the most widely distributed jackrabbit (''Lepus'' species) in North America. Native black-tailed jackrabbit populations occur from central Washington east to Missouri and south to

Baja California Sur Baja California Sur (; 'South Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California Sur), is the least populated state and the 31st admitted state of the 32 federal ent ...

and Zacatecas. Black-tailed jackrabbit distribution is currently expanding eastward in the

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...

at the expense of

. The black-tailed jackrabbit has been successfully introduced in southern Florida and along the coastline in Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia. Six subspecies of ''L. californicus'' are in the Baja California Peninsula, three of which are endemic to the surrounding islands. The current distribution is a result of sea-level rise about 21,000 years ago, after the last glacial maximum. Due to this geographic isolation, the current subspecies of ''L. californicus'' living on the peninsula can be separated into three subclades based on similar DNA structure and pelage color. The first clade is associated with subspecies ''L. c. xanti'', and contains all subspecies found in the southernmost part of the Baja Peninsula; it has a yellowish color pattern. The second clade is associated with subspecies ''L. c. magdalenae'', and includes all subspecies found between the La Paz isthmus and the southern Vixcaino Desert, including subspecies ''L. c. xanti'', ''L. c. sheldoni'', and ''L. c. martirensis''. This clade has a coloration pattern range of light brown to yellow. The third clade is associated with subspecies ''L. c. martirensis'', and includes all subspecies found from the Viscaino Desert to the northernmost part of the peninsula. Distribution of subspecies occurring entirely or partially in the United States is:Dunn, John P.; Chapman, Joseph A.; Marsh, Rex E. (1982). "Jackrabbits: ''Lepus californicus'' and allies" in Chapman, J. A.; Feldhamer, G. A. (eds.) ''Wild mammals of North America: biology, management and economics''. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press. *'' L. c. altamirae'' ( Nelson) *''L. c. asellus'' (G. S. Miller) *''L. c. bennettii'' ( Gray) – coastal southern California to Baja California Norte *''L. c. californicus'' (Gray) – coastal Oregon to coastal and Central Valley California *''L. c. curti'' (E. R. Hall) *''L. c. deserticola'' ( Mearns) – southern Idaho to Sonora *''L. c. ememicus'' (

J. A. Allen Joel Asaph Allen (July 19, 1838 – August 29, 1921) was an American zoologist, mammalogist, and ornithologist. He became the first president of the American Ornithologists' Union, the first curator of birds and mammals at the American Museum o ...

) – central Arizona to Sonora *''L. c. festinus'' (Nelson) *''L. c. magdalenae'' (Nelson) *''L. c. martirensis'' (J. M. Stowell) *''L. c. melanotis'' (Mearns) – South Dakota to Iowa, Missouri, and central Texas *''L. c. merriamai'' (Mearns) – south-central and southeastern Texas to Tamaulipas *''L. c. richardsonii'' ( Bachman) – central California *''L. c. sheldoni'' (W. H. Burt) *''L. c. texianus'' (

Waterhouse Waterhouse may refer to: People *Waterhouse (surname) Places * Waterhouse, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Waterhouse Island (disambiguation) * Waterhouse district of Kingston, Jamaica ** Waterhouse F.C., a football club based in the Waterho ...

) – southeastern Utah and southwestern Colorado to Zacatecas *''L. c. wallawalla'' (

Merriam Merriam can refer to: People * Alan P. Merriam (1923–1980), American ethnomusicologist * Charles Edward Merriam (1874–1953), American political scientist * Charles W. Merriam (1877–1961), American insurance businessman and politician * Clinto ...

) – eastern Washington to northeastern California and northwestern Nevada *''L. c. xanti'' ( Thomas)

Plant communities

The black-tailed jackrabbit occupies plant communities with a mixture of shrubs, grasses, and forbs. Shrubland-herb mosaics are preferred over pure stands of shrubs or herbs. Black-tailed jackrabbit populations are common in sagebrush (''Artemisia'' spp.),Nydegger, Nicholas C.; Smith, Graham W. (1986). "Prey populations in relation to Artemisia vegetation types in southwestern Idaho", pp. 152–156 in McArthur, E. Durant; Welch, Bruce L. (eds)
Proceedings—symposium on the biology of Artemisia and Chrysothamnus
1984 July 9–13; Provo, UT. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-200. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station

creosotebush ''Larrea tridentata'', called creosote bush and greasewood as a plant, chaparral as a medicinal herb, and ''gobernadora'' (Spanish for "governess") in Mexico, due to its ability to secure more water by inhibiting the growth of nearby plants. In S ...

(''Larrea tridentata''), and other

desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...

shrublands; palouse, shortgrass, and mixed-grass prairies;

grassland; open-canopy

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...

; oak (''Quercus'' spp.), and pinyon-

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

(''Pinus-Juniperus'' spp.) woodlands; and early seral (succeeding each other), low- to mid-elevation

coniferous forests Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All extant ...

. It is also common in and near croplands, especially

alfalfa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as w ...

(''Medicago sativa'') fields.

Lifestyle

Male black-tailed jackrabbits reach sexual maturity around 7 months of age. Females usually breed in the spring of their second year, although females born in spring or early summer may breed in their first year. Ovulation is induced by copulation. The breeding season is variable depending upon latitude and environmental factors. In the northern part of their range in Idaho, black-tailed jackrabbits breed from February through May. In Utah, they breed from January through July, with over 75% of females pregnant by April. The Kansas breeding season extends from January to August. Breeding in warm climates continues nearly year-round. Two peak breeding seasons corresponding to rainfall patterns and growth of young vegetation occur in California, Arizona, and New Mexico. In Arizona, for example, breeding peaks during winter (January–March) rains and again during June monsoons. The gestation period ranges from 41 to 47 days. More litters are born in warm climates: the number of litters born each year ranges from two per year in Idaho to seven in Arizona. Litter sizes are largest in the northern portions of black-tailed jackrabbit's range and decrease toward the south. Average litter size has been reported at 4.9 in Idaho, 3.8 in Utah, and 2.2 in Arizona. Female black-tailed jackrabbits do not prepare an elaborate nest. They give birth in shallow excavations called forms that are no more than a few centimeters deep. Females may line forms with hair prior to giving birth, but some drop litters in existing depressions on the ground with no further preparation. Young are born fully furred with eyes open, and are mobile within minutes of birth. Females do not protect or even stay with the young except during nursing. Ages of weaning and dispersal are unclear since the young are well camouflaged and rarely observed in the field. Captive black-tailed jackrabbits are fully weaned by 8 weeks. The young stay together for at least a week after leaving the form.

Preferred habitat

The black-tailed jackrabbit can occupy a wide range of habitats as long as diversity in plant species exists. It requires mixed grasses, forbs, and shrubs for food, and shrubs or small trees for cover. It prefers moderately open areas without dense understory growth and is seldom found in closed- canopy habitats. For example, in California, black-tailed jackrabbits are plentiful in open chamise (''Ademostoma fasciculatum'') and ''Ceanothus'' spp.

interspersed with grasses, but does not occupy closed-canopy chaparral.Bell, M. M.; Studinski, G. H. (1972)
"Habitat manipulation and its relationship to avian and small rodent populations on the Descanso District of the Cleveland National Forest"
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT Similarly, the black-tailed jackrabbit occupies clearcuts and early seral coniferous forest, but not closed-canopy coniferous forest.Giusti, Gregory A.; Schmidt, Robert H.; Timm, Robert M.; et al. (1992). "The lagomorphs: rabbits, hares, and pika". In: ''Silvicultural approaches to animal damage management in Pacific Northwest forests''. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-287. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station: pp. 289–307. Black-tailed jackrabbits do not migrate or hibernate during winter; the same habitat is used year-round. Diurnal movement of 2 to 10 miles (3–16 km) occurs from shrub cover in day to open foraging areas at night. Home range area varies with habitat and habitat quality. Home ranges of 0.4 to 1.2 mi² (1–3 km²) have been reported in big sagebrush (''Artemisia tridentata'') and black

greasewood Greasewood is a common name shared by several plants: * ''Adenostoma fasciculatum'' is a plant with white flowers that is native to Oregon, Nevada, California, and northern Baja California. This shrub is one of the most widespread plants of the ...

(''Sarcobatus vermiculatus'') communities of northern Utah. Black-tailed jackrabbits require shrubs or small

conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...

s for hiding, nesting, and thermal cover, and grassy areas for night feeding. A shrub-grassland mosaic or widely spaced shrubs interspersed with herbs provides hiding cover while providing feeding opportunities. Small shrubs do not provide adequate cover. In the Snake River Birds of Prey Study Area in southwestern Idaho, black-tailed jackrabbits were more frequent on sites dominated by

big sagebrush ''Artemisia tridentata'', commonly called big sagebrush,MacKay, Pam (2013), ''Mojave Desert Wildflowers'', 2nd ed., , p. 264. Great Basin sagebrush or (locally) simply sagebrush, is an aromatic shrub from the family Asteraceae, which grows in ari ...

black greasewood ''Sarcobatus'' is a North American genus of two species of flowering plants, formerly considered to be a single species. Common names for ''S. vermiculatus'' include greasewood, seepwood, and saltbush. Traditionally, ''Sarcobatus'' has been ...

than on sites dominated by the smaller shrubs

winterfat ''Krascheninnikovia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae known as winterfat, so-called because it is a nutritious livestock forage. They are known from Eurasia and western North America. Th ...

(''Krascheninnikovia lanata'') or

shadscale ''Atriplex confertifolia'', the shadscale or spiny saltbush, is a species of evergreen shrub in the family Amaranthaceae, which is native to the western United States and northern Mexico. Description The height of ''Atriplex confertifolia'' vari ...

(''Atriplex confertifolia''). Black-tailed jackrabbits do not habitually use a

burrow An Eastern chipmunk at the entrance of its burrow A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to construct a space suitable for habitation or temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. Burrows provide a form of sh ...

, although they have occasionally been observed using abandoned burrows for escape and thermal cover.

Food habits

The black-tailed jackrabbit diet is composed of shrubs, small trees, grasses, and forbs. Throughout the course of a year, black-tailed jackrabbits feed on most if not all of the important plant species in a community. Growth stage and moisture content of plants may influence selection more than species. Shrubs generally comprise the bulk of fall and winter diets, while grasses and forbs are used in spring and early summer. This pattern varies with climate: herbaceous plants are grazed during greenup periods while the plants are in pre-reproductive to early reproductive stages, and shrubs are used more in dry seasons. Shrubs are browsed throughout the year, however. Most of a jackrabbit's body water is replaced by foraging water-rich vegetation.Vorhies, Charles T.; Taylor, Walter P. (1933)
"The life histories and ecology of jackrabbits, ''Lepus alleni'' and ''Lepus californicus'' ssp., in relation to grazing in Arizona"
''Technical Bulletin'' No. 49. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona, Agricultural Experiment Station Jackrabbits require a plant's water weight to be at least five times its dry weight to meet daily water intake requirements. Therefore, black-tailed jackrabbits switch to phreatophyte (deep-rooted) shrubs when herbaceous vegetation is recovering from their foraging. Plant species used by black-tailed jackrabbits are well documented for desert regions. Forage use in other regions is less well known. However, black-tailed jackrabbits browse Douglas fir ('' Pseudotsuga menziesii''), ponderosa pine (''

Pinus ponderosa ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...

''), lodgepole pine (''P. contorta''), and western hemlock ('' Tsuga heterophylla'') seedlings, and oak (''Quercus'' spp.) seedlings and sprouts.

Great Basin

Great Basin The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic basin, endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California ...

, big sagebrush is a primary forage species and is used throughout the year; in southern Idaho it forms 16–21% of the black-tailed jackrabbit summer diet. Rabbitbrush (''Chrysothamnus'' spp.), spiny hopsage (''gray spinosa''), and black greasewood are also browsed. Four-wing saltbush (''Atriplex canescens'') is heavily used in western Nevada. In Butte County, Idaho, winterfat comprises 41% of black-tailed jackrabbits' annual diet. Grasses comprise 14% of the diet, with most grass consumption in March and April. Russian thistle (''

Salsola kali ''Salsola kali'' was the botanical name for a species of flowering plants in the amaranth family, whose subspecies have been recently reclassified as two separate species in the genus ''Kali'': * ''Kali tragus'', formerly ''Salsola tragus'' or '' ...

'') is an important forb diet item. Needle-and-thread grass (''Stipa comata'') and Indian ricegrass (''

Oryzopsis hymenoides ''Eriocoma hymenoides'' (common names: Indian ricegrass and sand rice grass) is a cool-season, perennial bunchgrass with narrow, rolled leaf blades.Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam MacKay, 2nd Ed., p287 It is native to western North America east of ...

'') are preferred grasses. Other preferred native grasses include Sandberg bluegrass (''

Poa secunda ''Poa secunda'' (variously known by the common names of Sandberg bluegrass, alkali bluegrass, big bluegrass, Canby's bluegrass, Nevada bluegrass, one-sided bluegrass, Pacific bluegrass, pine blugrass, slender bluegrass, wild bluegrass, and curly ...

'') and bluebunch wheatgrass (''

Pseudoroegneria spicata ''Pseudoroegneria spicata'' is a species of grass known by the common name bluebunch wheatgrass. This native western North American perennial bunchgrass is also known by the scientific synonyms ''Elymus spicatus'' and ''Agropyron spicatum''. The g ...

''). Where available, crested wheatgrass (''

Agropyron desertorum ''Agropyron desertorum'' (clustered wheat grass, desert crested wheatgrass, desert wheatgrass, standard crested wheatgrass; syn. ''Agropyron cristatum'' subsp. ''desertorum'' (Fisch. ex Link) A. Löve, ''Agropyron cristatum'' var. ''desertorum'' ...

'' and '' Agropyron cristatum'') and barley (''Hordeum vulgare'') are highly preferred.

Cheatgrass ''Bromus tectorum'', known as downy brome, drooping brome or cheatgrass, is a winter annual grass native to Europe, southwestern Asia, and northern Africa, but has become invasive in many other areas. It now is present in most of Europe, southe ...

(''Bromus tectorum'') use is variable: it comprises 45% of the April diet on two southern Idaho sites, but black-tailed jackrabbit on an eastern Washington site do not use it.

Warm desert

In warm desert, mesquite (''Prosopis'' spp.) and creosotebush ('' Larrea tridentata'') are principal browse species.Mares, M. A.; Hulse, A. C. (1977). "Patterns of some vertebrate communities in creosote bush deserts", pp. 209–226 in: Mabry, T. J.; Hunziker, J. H.; DiFeo, D. R. Jr. (eds.) ''Creosote bush: Biology and chemistry of Larrea in New World deserts''. U.S./IBP Synthesis Series 6. Stroudsburg, PA: Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, Inc. Broom snakeweed ('' Gutierrezia sarothrae'') and '' Yucca'' spp. are also used. In honey mesquite ('' Prosopis glandulosa'' var. ''glandulosa'') communities in New Mexico, the overall black-tailed jackrabbit diet was 47% shrubs, 22% grasses, and 31% forbs. Black grama ('' Bouteloua'' spp.), dropseed ('' Sporobolus'' spp.), fluffgrass (''

Erioneuron pulchellum ''Dasyochloa'' is a monotypic genus containing the single species ''Dasyochloa pulchella''

''), and threeawns ('' Aristida'' spp.) are the most commonly grazed grasses. Leather croton (''

Croton pottsii ''Croton pottsii'' is a species of plant known by the common name leatherweed. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Description ''Croton pottsii'' is a perennial forb with ovate to elliptic shaped leaves, which are ...

''), silverleaf nightshade ('' Solanum elaeagnifolium''), desert marigold ('' Baileya multiradiata''), wooly paperflower (''

Psilostrophe tagetina ''Psilostrophe tagetina'' is a flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name woolly paperflower. It is native to Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and northwestern Mexico. Uses Ramah Navajo use a strong ...

''), and

globemallow ''Sphaeralcea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family (Malvaceae). There are about 40-60 species, including annuals, perennials, and shrubs. Most originate in the drier regions of North America, with some known from South America ...

(''Sphaeralcea'' spp.) are important forbs, although many forb species are grazed. ''

Opuntia ''Opuntia'', commonly called prickly pear or pear cactus, is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae. Prickly pears are also known as ''tuna'' (fruit), ''sabra'', ''nopal'' (paddle, plural ''nopales'') from the Nahuatl word f ...

'' spp., saguaro (''Carnegiea gigantea''), and other cacti are used throughout the year, but are especially important in dry seasons as a source of moisture.

Predators

The black-tailed jackrabbit is an important prey species for many raptors and carnivorous mammals. The black-tailed jackrabbit and

Townsend's ground squirrel Townsend's ground squirrel (''Urocitellus townsendii'') is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is found in high desert shrublands in several areas of the United States. Distribution Townsend's ground squirrel is found in the Great Bas ...

(''Spermophilus townsendii'') are the two most important prey species on the Snake River Birds of Prey Study Area. Hawks preying on black-tailed jackrabbits include the ferruginous hawk (''Buteo regalis''), white-tailed hawk (''B. albicaudatus''), Swainson's hawk (''B. swainsoni''), and red-tailed hawk (''B. jamaicensis'').Janes, Stewart W. (1985)
"Habitat selection in raptorial birds"
pp. 159–188 in Cody, Martin L. (ed.) ''Habitat selection in birds''. Academic Press Inc. The black-tailed jackrabbit is the primary prey of Swainson's, red-tailed, and ferruginous hawks on Idaho and Utah sites. Other raptors consuming black-tailed jackrabbits include the great horned owl (''Bubo virginianus''), burrowing owl (''Athene cunicularia''), golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos''), and

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

(''Haliaeetus leucocephalus''). A significant correlation exists between golden eagle and black-tailed jackrabbit reproduction patterns. In Colorado and southeastern Wyoming, black-tailed jackrabbits constitute 9% of nesting bald eagles' diet. Jackrabbits and

cottontail Cottontail rabbits are the leporid species in the genus ''Sylvilagus'', found in the Americas. Most ''Sylvilagus'' species have stub tails with white undersides that show when they retreat, giving them their characteristic name. However, this ...

s (''Sylvilagus'' spp.) combined form 9% of the diet of bald eagles wintering on national forests in Arizona and New Mexico.Grubb, Teryl G.; Kennedy, Charles E. (1982)
"Bald eagle winter habitat on southwestern National Forests"
Res. Pap. RM-237. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station Mammalian predators include

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...

(''Canis latrans''),

bobcat The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUC ...

(''Lynx rufus''), Canada lynx (''Lynx canadensis''), domestic dog (''Canis familiaris''),

domestic cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members o ...

(''Felis catus''),

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...

(''Vulpes vulpes''), common gray fox (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''), American badger (''Taxidea taxus''), wolf (''Canis lupus''), and mountain lion (''Puma concolor''). In many areas, black-tailed jackrabbit is the primary item in coyote diets. It is locally and regionally important to other mammalian predators. One study found that jackrabbits made up 45% of the bobcat diet in Utah and Nevada. Another Utah–Nevada study found that jackrabbits were the fourth-most commonly consumed prey of mountain lions. Rattlesnakes (''Crotalus'' spp.) and garter snakes (''Thamnophis sirtalis'') prey on black-tailed jackrabbit young. Raccoons (''Procyon lotor'') and

striped skunk The striped skunk (''Mephitis mephitis'') is a skunk of the genus '' Mephitis'' that occurs across much of North America, including southern Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico. It is currently listed as least concern by the IUCN on ac ...

s (''Mephitis mephitis'') may also capture young.

Parasites and disease

The black-tailed jackrabbit plays host to many

s including fleas, ticks,

, and

, and many

endoparasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...

s including trematodes, cestodes, nematodes, and botfly (''Cuterebra'') larvae. Diseases affecting the black-tailed jackrabbit in the West are tularemia, equine encephalitis, brucellosis, Q fever, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Ticks are vectors for tularemia, and infected ticks have been found on jackrabbits in the West. Jackrabbits infected with tularemia die very quickly.Whitaker, John O. Jr.; Hamilton, William J. Jr. 1998. Mammals of the Eastern United States. Cornell University Press. 189-92. The high prevalence of disease and parasites in wild jackrabbits affects human predation. Many hunters will not collect the jackrabbits they shoot, and those who do are well-advised to wear gloves while handling carcasses and to cook the meat thoroughly to avoid contracting tularemia. Most hunting of jackrabbits is done for pest control or sport.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q640645 Lepus Mammals of Mexico Mammals of the United States Fauna of the California chaparral and woodlands Fauna of the Mojave Desert Fauna of the Sonoran Desert Fauna of the Baja California Peninsula Fauna of the Colorado Desert Fauna of the Western United States Mammals described in 1837 Taxa named by John Edward Gray