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title: "What the sources say about the Black-Tailed Jackrabbit | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "42 claims from the Black-Tailed Jackrabbit profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the Black-Tailed Jackrabbit (*Lepus californicus*)

> 42 claims from the Black-Tailed Jackrabbit profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Black-Tailed Jackrabbit](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/black-tailed-jackrabbit/)

## Brown, Lorenzo & Álvarez-Castañeda (2019). Lepus californicus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T41276A45186309.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2019-1.rlts.t41276a45186309.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Least Concern | Least Concern (note: Category read through GBIF's copy of the Red List, taxon id checked against the assessment DOI.) |

## Jackrabbits. Big Bend National Park, National Park Service.

https://www.nps.gov/bibe/learn/nature/jackrabbit.htm

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Coyotes, mountain lions, bobcats, foxes, hawks, eagles, owls and snakes all eat hares and rabbits | Hares and rabbits are perhaps nature's ideal prey. Coyotes, mountain lions, bobcats, foxes, hawks, eagles, owls, and snakes will all eat them. (note: 'them' = hares and rabbits) |
| To escape, a jackrabbit runs a zigzag course at up to 40 miles per hour (64 km/h) | rely on running in a zigzag pattern to escape their predators ... They can achieve speeds of up to 40 mph. (note: 64 km/h from 40 mph. ADW (1999) gives 30-35 mph; the park service page (2015) is followed.) |
| It can hop up to 20 feet when panicked. | The jackrabbit can hop 5'-10' at a time, and up to 20' when panicked. |
| every four to five leaps is an exceptionally high one, to see its surroundings or predators | When at a moderate run, every four to five leaps are exceptionally high to see their surroundings or predators. |
| Its eyes sit on the sides of its head, which enables it to see in front, to the side and behind. | The eyes are on the sides of the head, which enables jackrabbits to see in front, to the side, and behind them. |
| The park service adds that it has poor endurance and often ends up as some animal's dinner. | but they have poor endurance and often end up as some animal's dinner. |
| The jackrabbit is actually a hare. | The jackrabbit is actually not a rabbit, but a hare. |
| Hares are born with hair and open eyes, and can run and hop shortly after birth. | Hares are also precocial, meaning they are born with hair and with their eyes open. They can run and hop shortly after birth. |
| Rabbits are born hairless, blind and helpless. | Rabbits are altricial, or born hairless, blind, and helpless. |
| It weighs between four and eight pounds (1.8 to 3.6 kg) | The black-tailed jackrabbit weighs between four and eight pounds. (note: 1.8 to 3.6 kg from 4 to 8 lb. ADW gives 1.3 to 3.1 kg and AnAge an adult weight of 4,175 g; the park service range is used.) |
| its total length is between 18 and 26 inches (46 to 66 cm) | Their total length is between 18 and 26 inches. (note: 46 to 66 cm from 18 to 26 in; ADW gives 47 to 63 cm nose to rump.) |
| The female is larger than the male. | The female doe is larger than the male buck. |
| A black stripe runs along the top of the tail and onto the rump, which is where the name comes from. | The tail has a black stripe that runs along the top onto the rump (hence the name) |
| To help digest tough plants, the jackrabbit's appendix serves as a pre-digesting chamber that starts breaking food down before it reaches the stomach. | To help digest this tough vegetation, the jackrabbit's appendix serves as a pre-digesting chamber to start breaking down these food sources before they reach the stomach. |
| It makes two types of droppings. The first is soft, moist and coated in mucus, and the jackrabbit eats it, as it is high in protein and certain B vitamins formed by bacteria in the intestines. | Two types of droppings are produced. The first is a soft, moist, mucous-coated sphere. The jackrabbit eats these droppings, as they are high in protein and certain B vitamins that are formed by bacteria in the intestines. |
| Its upper front teeth never stop growing, so it must constantly gnaw on vegetation to wear them down. | These teeth never stop growing, so the hare must constantly gnaw on vegetation to wear them down. (note: 'These teeth' = the double row of upper incisors and the small secondary teeth behind them.) |
| Fast breeding is an adaptation to being preyed on by so many carnivores. | The amazing reproductive rate of hares and rabbits is an adaptation to being preyed upon by so many carnivores. |
| A female can have up to six litters a year, with as many as eight young in each, though two to four is more common. | will have up to six litters each year with as many as eight young in each litter, although two to four is more common |
| The pregnancy lasts 41 to 47 days. | After a gestation period of 41-47 days |
| Within two weeks the young can forage for themselves, and after one month they live on their own. | Within two weeks the young can forage for themselves, and after one month they are living on their own. |
| A desert hare that zigzags at up to 40 miles per hour and eats its own droppings for a second pass at its food. | rely on running in a zigzag pattern to escape their predators ... They can achieve speeds of up to 40 mph ... The jackrabbit eats these droppings, as they are high in protein |
| Zigzags at up to 40 miles per hour, and at a moderate run makes every fourth or fifth leap a high one to look for predators | rely on running in a zigzag pattern to escape their predators ... They can achieve speeds of up to 40 mph. When at a moderate run, every four to five leaps are exceptionally high to see their surroundings or predators. |
| No, it is a hare. Hares live in open country and run to escape, while rabbits dig burrows and dash into them. A hare's young arrive furred and with their eyes open, but a rabbit's arrive hairless and blind. | The jackrabbit is actually not a rabbit, but a hare. Hares live in open areas and rely on running in a zigzag pattern to escape their predators ... Rabbits, on the other hand, move slower, dig burrows, and scamper into their homes when threatened. Rabbits are altricial, or born hairless, blind, and helpless. |
| Two to four young per litter is typical, though a litter can reach eight, and a female can fit up to six litters into a year. Each pregnancy runs 41 to 47 days. | will have up to six litters each year with as many as eight young in each litter, although two to four is more common. After a gestation period of 41-47 days |
| Eating Everything Twice | The jackrabbit eats these droppings, as they are high in protein and certain B vitamins that are formed by bacteria in the intestines. After passing through the digestive system again (note: Heading: it eats the soft droppings, so food passes through twice.) |
| Second helping It makes two types of droppings. | Two types of droppings are produced. |
| At a moderate run, a black-tailed jackrabbit makes every fourth or fifth leap an exceptionally high one to look for predators | When at a moderate run, every four to five leaps are exceptionally high to see their surroundings or predators. |
| weightKg: 2.5 | The black-tailed jackrabbit weighs between four and eight pounds. (note: task #1261; 2.5 kg also sits inside ADW's 1.3 to 3.1 kg) |

## Lepus californicus (black-tailed jackrabbit). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Lepus_californicus/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| It is found throughout the southwestern United States into Mexico, as far east as Missouri and north into Washington. | is found throughout the southwestern United States into Mexico, as far east as Missouri, north into Washington |
| Look for it in desert scrub, prairies, farmland and dunes, from sea level to about 3,800 m. | inhabit desert scrubland, prairies, farmlands, and dunes. They favor arid regions and areas of short grass rangeland from sea level to about 3,800 m. |
| In captivity it lives 5 to 6 years | Lifespan in captivity is 5-6 years |
| Wild jackrabbits often die much sooner. | rabbits in the wild often die much sooner due to predation, disease or problems associated with overpopulation |
| Grasses and herbaceous matter are its preferred foods. | Grasses and herbaceous matter are the preferred foods of |
| When other plants are not available, twigs and young bark of woody plants are the staple food. | twigs and young bark of woody plants are the staple food when other plants are not available |
| Jackrabbits eat almost constantly: 15 of them eat as much as one large grazing cow in one day. | Jackrabbits eat almost constantly and consume large quantities relative to their size; 15 jackrabbits eat as much as a large grazing cattle in one day. (note: ADW (1999) says 'cattle'; rendered as one cow.) |
| It gets nearly all its water from the plants it eats. | obtain nearly all the water they need from the plant material they consume |
| Desert scrub, prairies, farmland and dunes from the southwestern United States into Mexico, north into Washington | found throughout the southwestern United States into Mexico, as far east as Missouri, north into Washington ... inhabit desert scrubland, prairies, farmlands, and dunes |
| Grasses and other plants, plus twigs and young bark when little else is available | Grasses and herbaceous matter are the preferred foods ... twigs and young bark of woody plants are the staple food when other plants are not available |

## AnAge entry for Lepus californicus. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Build 15, Human Ageing Genomic Resources.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Lepus_californicus

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| one wild-born hare was about 11.8 years old when it died in captivity | One wild born specimen was about 11.8 years of age when it died in captivity |
| AnAge gives a maximum of about 11.8 years, from a single hare that was born in the wild and died in captivity. | Maximum longevity 11.8 years (captivity) ... One wild born specimen was about 11.8 years of age when it died in captivity (note: 'a single hare' = 'One wild born specimen'; AnAge rates the sample size Tiny.) |

## Young et al. (2014). Limb bone morphology, bone strength, and cursoriality in lagomorphs. Journal of Anatomy.

https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.12220

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A bone study compared it with pikas and a rabbit and found the jackrabbit typically had the longest distal segments, the parts of the limb farthest from the body. | pikas (Ochotona princeps, non-cursorial), jackrabbits (Lepus californicus, highly cursorial), and rabbits (Sylvilagus bachmani ... highly cursorial jackrabbits are typically marked by the lowest mechanical advantage and the longest distal segments (note: 'farthest from the body' glosses 'distal' for readers. The rabbit is Sylvilagus bachmani; 'another rabbit' was cut, since the jackrabbit is a hare.) |