White Snowshoe Hare Waiting (And Hiding) Until Snow Comes

The big-footed critter's bright white winter coat stands out against brown and gray forest.

The long wait for winter is beneficial for some wildlife, but potentially deadly for others.

Ironically, the lack of snow actually makes life more challenging for some animals.

An example of that is a snowshoe hare that was hiding under some brush and branches at Gooseberry Falls State Park on Wednesday.  The hare was spotted by park interpreter and naturalist Michaela Rice, and FOX21 Photojournalist Adam Jagunich.

The snowshoe hare did not move a muscle as it watched the two humans stare back. There was good reason: its winter coat had turned white, but where was the snow it’s supposed to blend in with?

“It’s really interesting that we get to see the snowshoe hare in a brown surrounding. These bunnies are staying really hunkered down in the winter so far because they have no camouflage,” said Rice.

“Obviously we can see this bunny from twenty feet away, and they are trying to stay incredibly still. They know that they are prey animals. And just recently with the snow cover I’ve been seeing a few snowshoe tracks. They really use snow to their benefit to escape predators and to find food. This is a really cool opportunity to see one just hunkered down in the middle of the daytime,” said Gooseberry’s Rice.

Snowshoe hares don’t just plop down in any spot, but look for cover under logs, and in the midst of brush and thickets. And if they seem to act like someone’s always chasing after them–it’s not just rabbit paranoia. Rice goes through the seemingly endless list of forest creatures that are after them.

“Probably pine marten and up. Fisher, hawk, eagle, wolf, lynx, and bobcats are primarily hunting snowshoe hare in the winter. So, think about how agile and how quick a hare has to be to get away from a lynx or a bobcat,” said Rice. “And then foxes and coyotes will also try to pursue them. They’re at the bottom of the food chain. That’s why I kind of affectionately called it a little bunny, because they are a prey animal for a lot of species,” said Rice.

Some camouflage help may be on the way. The predicted several inches of snow should make the snowshoe hare less of a sitting duck.