Not the Easter Bunny

Black-tailed Jackrabbit - ©ingridtaylar

Those ears serve this Black-tailed Jackrabbit well. A jack will usually hear you coming long before you see him. And he can regulate blood flow in these ears to adjust for external temperatures.

The Black-tailed Jackrabbit (Lepus californicus) — any jackrabbit — is actually a hare, not a rabbit.

This particular jackrabbit wasn’t keen on my presence. What appears as “calm” is anything but. It’s a defense mechanism. So, although I could have waited for his moment in the sun, I opted to snap this quick shot and leave him to his camouflage. A second hare had scrambled away the instant I accidentally came upon the two in a Berkeley meadow.

The second photo below was captured on a different day, different jackrabbit.

What I find most endearing about jacks is their soulful expression — the ears and eyes so huge as to suggest a wonderment. I doubt that ‘wonderment’ is what a jackrabbit feels. If a hare could talk I imagine ‘cynical’ would be its disposition, given how often the poor thing has to run for its survival. Any jackrabbit that survives the onslaught of predators — human and other — is probably a jaded old soul.

This photo is obviously compromised by our friend’s shady stance. If you’d like to see a more comprehensive database, check out the jackrabbit images at CalPhotos — one of my favorite online references for California flora and fauna.

Hares versus Rabbits

Just a few qualities that distinguish hares from rabbits:

The ears. Long, jackrabbit ears.
Hare babies are born with fur and eyes open (precocial), whereas rabbit babies are born hairless and without sight.
Hares are larger and often quickr than rabbits.
Hares have more pronounced hind legs.
Hares have not been domesticated like rabbits have.
Hares build nests on the ground while rabbits give birth in underground burrows.