The Arctic Hare

Arctic Hare

The Arctic hare lives throughout the tundra of Canada from Newfoundland to Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.

Food- The main food for the Arctic hare is woody plants. It will eat mosses, lichens, buds, berries, leaves, seaweed, bark, willow twigs and roots.

Adaptations- The claws on the front feet of the Arctic hare are long. The strong claws are used for digging in hard-packed snow. Their feet are thickly padded with fur

The Arctic hare's coat grows longer and thicker for the winter. They have a short thick undercoat protected by a longer top coat. The white fur makes the hare difficult to spot in the snow. It has small ears which lose less body heat than larger ears. To keep warm and conserve energy, a hare will tuck in its tail, paws and ears and sit still for hours.

Hares will form large groups. While some rest and feed the others act as guards. They gather together in the snow, under bushes or behind rocks. They also dig tunnels (dens) in the snow.

When alarmed they rise up on their hind legs to look for danger and then bound off very quickly . Hopping up on their hind legs like a kangaroo, they can reach speeds of 64 km. per hour. The hare can swim across narrow streams.