#Hares Scotch came back to the same spot in my backyard October 24 2022

#Hares Scotch came back to the same spot in my backyard
#Beaumont #Alberta #Canada
#Camera #Nikon #Coolpix #P900 Time 4:56 pm
#Weather Cloudy with 6°C ( 43°F ) October 24 2022
————-
During the summer, they eat grasses, herbs and field crops. Their preference is for wild grasses and weeds but they have taken to feeding on crops.
—————
During the day it rests and sleeps in a form, which it makes by scraping out a shallow depression in the ground, just fitting its body when crouching low.
—————
Rabbits are fastidious groomers.
They insist on being clean and tidy and will lick themselves like cats, and like cats, they can get hairballs if they ingest too much hair. Unlike cats however, rabbits cannot vomit.
Some rabbits will take a couple of weeks or more to loose their old coat of fur.
———–
When it comes to licking urine, the most common reason for this habit to form is neglect.
Urine drinking behavior is common among rabbits that have been neglected early on in their lives.
Neglected rabbits often pick up this behavior when they are not provided with enough water.
———–
a male or female dog may lick the genital area after urinating as a means of cleaning the area.
————–
Snowshoe hares live in the boreal forests of North America and are active year round.
They gain their curious name from their very large hind feet that are lined with stiff hairs that form a snowshoe, supporting their weight on the surface of the snow.
They have five toes on each front foot and four toes on each hind foot.
Hares hind feet are large and act like snowshoes, preventing them from sinking in the snow.
When snow conditions make tracks less clear, you might think the animal was moving in the opposite direction .
————
Hares fur can be a different color.
During the winter, snowshoe hares are white,
which helps them blend in with the snow.
the color of their winter coat is determined by genetic variation that has been shaped by evolution to match the local presence or absence of snow .
When the seasons change to spring and summer,
snowshoe hares turn a reddish brown.
This color helps them camouflage with dirt and rocks.
With warming temperatures, there’s less snow in the winter, and white hares on unusually snow less ground stick out to predators .
The color change is thought to be at least partially linked to photoperiod that is, the amount of light received during the day.
———-
Rabbits keep their fur and paws clean by licking themselves frequently throughout the day, much like cats.
Rabbits generally don’t need to be bathed
Licking a limb would be a sign of pain if combined with the rabbit favoring that limb, limping or shaking the limb as though it is asleep.
Licking at other parts of its body accompanied with biting that same area could indicate an internal pain.
It is not always easy to determine if excessive licking is a sign of pain.
Rabbits don’t only prepare to clean their faces by hitting their front paws together.
They frequently do so by diligently licking them, too.
While clapping their paws can help eliminate any dirt that might be collecting in their paws, licking can often help get rid of tougher stuff.
———–
sleeping for about six to eight hours each day.
Much like deer, bunnies are crepuscular,
which means they are most active during dusk and dawn.
still periodically get up to stretch and eat during the day and night, but you’ll notice them sleeping through most of the afternoon.
———–
The habitat for some snowshoe hares has changed dramatically, leaving some habitats without snow for longer periods than previously.
Some hares have adapted and stay brown all winter.
Others, however, continue to turn white in winter.
These hares are at an increased risk of being hunted and killed because they are no longer camouflaged.
Many people in the scientific community believe that snowshoe hare populations are at risk of crashing unless interbreeding speeds up the process of evolution to year round brown.
Other species who rely on the hare as part of their diet are also at risk
———-
Whether we think of rabbits and hares as the cute, cuddly characters
from our childhood storybooks or as pests of epic proportions, we can
agree that one thing appears to be true they aren’t in short supply
It may surprise you to learn that several species of rabbits and hares are among the most endangered mammals on Earth.
Remarkable Rabbits, a documentary from The Nature of Things, shows us the critical role that these animals play in our landscapes and ecosystems and how many of them aren’t exactly breeding like rabbits.
——–
Thank you very much
Have a nice day
Stay Safe and Healthy
Tom