Female Alaskan Hares nurse their young for an extended period, providing them with enough nutrition to grow extraordinarily quickly during the short Alaskan summer. There are an average of six furry little hares in a litter, and females usually bear just one litter per year. Alaskan Hares are among the largest hares. Their fur in winter is completely white except for black markings on the tips of the ears, and they molt to a darker summer coat that provides camouflage when the snow melts. They live in alder thickets and seem to ignore rain or snow instead of seeking shelter. Even very young hares in nests are regularly exposed to cold and rain.

Links:
Mammal Species of the World
Click here for The American Society of Mammalogists species account

The geographic range of L. othus consists of west and southwest Alaska (Flux and Angermann 1990). It occupies elevations from sea level to approximately 660 m (Flux and Angermann 1990). Previously, distribution included the Chukotkan region of Russia; however, molecular phylogeny suggests that this population of hare is more closely allied with L. timidus (Waltari et al. 2004). The Alaskan hare has not been studied extensively, probably because of its restricted and isolated distribution along the Arctic tundra region of western Alaska. The distribution is almost entirely north of treeline, including the North Slope of Alaska, although verifiable records of this range extension are lacking.

Lepus othus is found in northern and western Alaska. Some descriptions also place them at the extreme eastern tip of Siberia.

Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native )

endemic to a single state or province

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

Global Range: (200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)) The range encompasses western Alaska, from the Selawik-Kotzebue area in the north to the Cold Bay area in the south, including all of the Seward Peninsula, most of the Alaska Peninsula, and most of the western coast of Alaska. The range often has been shown to include part of the North Slope, but apparently there are no verifiable records from that area (Best and Henry 1994). However, Klein (1995) reported that this species was present in Alaska north of the Brooks Range from the Colville River westward (Bee and Hall 1956) but that there have been no records from that region since 1951. Centers of abundance are the western Seward Peninsula and the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region, although numbers have remained low there since population highs in the 1970s (Klein 1995). Densities are low on the Alaska Peninsula; high densities were last reported there in the winter of 1953-54 (Schiller and Rausch 1956). Hoffman (in Wilson and Reeder 1993) stated that the species possibly occurs also in eastern Chukotsk (Russia); mtDNA data indicate that this species does occur in eastern Asia (Waltari et al. 2004).

Alaskan hares are the largest hare species in North America, measuring in length from 0.5 to 0.7 m with a tail length of about 8 cm, and very large hind feet (almost 20 cm long) which aid in movement over snow. There is no sexual dimorphism in size. Alaskan hares have robust skulls, strongly recurved upper incisors, and stout claws for digging in the snow. Unlike most hares, they have fairly short ears to conserve heat in the arctic environment. Lepus othus has a gray-brown topcoat with a white undercoat in the summer, but sheds and grows an entirely white coat in the winter, except for the black fur at the tip of the ears which is present year-round.

Range mass: 3.9 to 7.2 kg.

Average mass: 4.8 kg.

Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry

Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike

Length: 69 cm

Weight: 4500 grams

Length:
Average: 597 mm
Range: 565-690 mm

Weight:
Average: 4,800 g
Range: 3,900-7,200 g

Snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) is smaller (total length 382-520 mm) and has smaller ears (66-79 mm) (Whitaker 1996).

Habitat and Ecology

Systems

• Terrestrial

Lepus othus tend to live on rocky slopes or upland tundra. They dislike low places. They may also be found in brushy areas that are good for camouflage.

Terrestrial Biomes: tundra

Comments: Habitat includes tundra, alluvial plains, coastal lowlands, alder thickets, sedge flats, wet meadows; basically open tundra, but these lagomorphs use brush when available. Young may be born in the open in small depressions or in thick shelter of willow or alder brush (Best and Henry 1994).

Non-Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species do not make significant seasonal migrations. Juvenile dispersal is not considered a migration.

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.

Alaskan hares mainly eat woody vegetation, including willow leaves, shoots, bark, and roots. They also feed on grasses, berries, and flowers when they are available. Evenings are the most common time to feed.

Plant Foods: leaves; roots and tubers; wood, bark, or stems; fruit; flowers

Primary Diet: herbivore (Folivore , Lignivore)

Comments: Eats mainly green plants in summer, woody vegetation of shrubs (bark, twigs, shoots) in winter and spring (Whitaker 1980, Best and Henry 1994). Also eats crowberry fruits.

Alaskan hares are not aggressive animals, they defend themselves mostly through hiding, aided by protective coloration. Still, they have been reported to defend themselves from attacking owls with their strong front legs. Raptors, weasels, wolverines, foxes, and polar bears are all potential predators of Alaskan hares.

Anti-predator Adaptations: cryptic

Note: For many non-migratory species, occurrences are roughly equivalent to populations.

Estimated Number of Occurrences: 21 - 300

Comments: This species is represented by a large number of occurrences or subpopulations.

2500 - 100,000 individuals

Comments: Total adult population size is unknown but presumably is at least several thousand. This species is generally rare, but with a tendency to fluctuate (see Buckley 1954). It was considered rare on the Seward Peninsula during 1947 and 1948 (Quay 1951, Rausch 1953). An increase in population numbers was observed in Chevak-Hooper Bay area on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in the early 1970s (Anderson 1974). Population numbers have been considered low ever since the recorded high in the 1970s (Klein 1995).

Basically solitary, except during the mating season when groups of 20 or more have been observed.

Comments: Hares observed emerging from thickets and feeding in the evenings at the west end of the Alaskan Peninsula (Murie 1938).

Lepus othus, in contrast to many other hares, has only one litter per year. This litter tends to be larger on average than other hare species. Litters consist of 4 to 8 (averaging 5) young called leverets. The mating season lasts from April to May and young are born in the summer months, from June to July. They have a somewhat darker pelage than adults. Like all hares, they are born with a full coat of fur and their eyes open. Leverets are fairly active soon after birth. This is useful because they do not live in burrows, but are born in open nest sites above ground.

Range number of offspring: 4 to 8.

Average number of offspring: 5.

Parental Investment: precocial

Conception occurs in April. Gestation lasts about 46 days. Young born in late May-June, full grown by mid-August (Whitaker 1980) or September, weaned in about 5-9 weeks. Litter size generally 5-7. One litter/year.

Lepus othus is described in "Mammal Species of the World" as rare and decreasing in range and numbers. However, none of the major conservation organizations list them among endangered or threatened species.

US Federal List: no special status

CITES: no special status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: N3 - Vulnerable

Rounded Global Status Rank: G3 - Vulnerable

Reasons: Restricted distribution in western Alaska. Rare, but with a tendency to fluctuate. Population numbers and range limits have declined in recent decades. Numbers low in core of distribution since population highs in the 1970s. Potential threats include high predator numbers following peak numbers of snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) and possibly interference competition from snowshoe hares. Questionable taxonomy. Overall, lack of accurate population data makes it difficult to assess status.

Population

Population Trend

Global Short Term Trend: Relatively stable to decline of 30%

Global Long Term Trend: Increase of 10-25% to decline of 50%

Comments: This rare hare is perhaps decreasing in range and numbers (see Hoffman, in Wilson and Reeder 1993; Klein 1995). The last reported population high was on the western Seward Peninsula and in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region in the 1970s; numbers are currently low in those areas (Klein 1995). Throughout the hare's southern distribution on the Alaskan Peninsula, high population numbers have not been reported since the winter of 1953-54 (Schiller and Rausch 1956).

Major Threats

Comments: Interference competition potentially occurs with snowshoe hares (Svendsen 1990, Klein 1995). Circumstantial evidence suggests that this hare may have declined in northern Alaska after arrival of the snowshoe hare, which was not present there in the early 1900s (Klein 1995). The relationship may be direct (food, parasites, disease) or indirect (increased numbers of predators during snowshoe hare population highs) (Klein 1995).

Scattered pockets of habitat loss are associated with human communities. Mining on the Seward Peninsula is increasingly fragmenting and altering tundra habitat. Subsistence harvest may be a local threat (Salo 1970).

Conservation Actions

Biological Research Needs: Research is needed to provide basic information on life history, ecology, habitat types occupied, limits of range distribution, and threat identification. Clarification of systematic status is needed.

Global Protection: Several (4-12) occurrences appropriately protected and managed

Comments: Habitat is protected in Bering Land Bridge and Katmai National Parks, Wood-Tikchik State Park, and Yukon Delta, Selawik, Togiak, and Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuges.

As herbivores, Alaskan hares could cause damage to gardens, but this does not seem to be much of a problem among Arctic people.

Although Alaskan hares are seldom used as a food source for humans, the meat is said to be quite tasty and Arctic people will eat them when necessary. They are more commonly trapped for fur, used to make lining for shoes and robes. They are also a popular sport hunting species.

Positive Impacts: food ; body parts are source of valuable material

Stewardship Overview: Assessment and regulation of mining expansion and oil development projects within the distribution of the tundra hare are needed to assure protection of important habitats.

Comments: Lepus arcticus and L. othus formerly were included in L. timidus. Jones et al. (1992) and Hoffman (in Wilson and Reeder 1993) treated L. timidus, L. arcticus, and L. othus as separate species. Angermann (in Wilson and Reeder 1993) regarded L. timidus, L. arcticus, and L. othus as probably conspecific (in which case the specific name timidus has priority). Some evidence based on cranial variation suggests that only Lepus arcticus and L. timidus should be recognized (Baker et al. 1983). Halanych et al. (1999) found minimal genetic diferences between L. arcticus and L. othus, and they questioned the validity of L. othus as a distinct species. However, Halanych et al. (1999) noted the need for further taxonomic study of the arctic hare group. Pending further study, the North American mammal checklist by Baker et al. (2003) retained L. othus as a valid species, as did Hoffman and Smith (in Wilson and Reeder 2005).

MtDNA data presented by Waltari et al. (2004) are partially consistent with recognition of L. arcticus, L. othus, and L. timidus as different species but also highlight the need for further study. These authors noted that "Shimodaira-Hasegawa tests did not reject monophyly of each arctic hare species [L. arcticus, L. othus, and L. timidus]. This molecular perspective supports the existing [three-species] taxonomy but also identifies a genetic discontinuity in L. timidus at the Kolyma and Omolon Rivers, as well as additional genetic structure in this species in western Europe. In addition, placement of a Korean hare (L. coreanus) within the arctic hares suggests that identity and relationships of East Asian species of Lepus warrant additional investigation."