Animal Fact Sheet

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ANIMAL FACT SHEET FAST FACTS NAME: Arctic hare SCIENTIFIC NAME: Lepus arcticus AVERAGE WEIGHT: 3 to 7 kg AVERAGE HEIGHT: 50 to 70 cm AVERAGE LIFESPAN: Undetermined as of yet, most likely 4-5 years DID YOU KNOW? Arctic hares have black eyelashes that protect their eyes from the sun’s glare, just like sunglasses. PHOTO: DAVID A. GILL A. DAVID PHOTO: PHYSIOLOGY Hares’ coats change colours slightly from season to season. In winter the coat is bright white and in summer white with an ashen tinge. Despite seasonal changes, their tail is always white. Their eyes are placed on each side of their head giving them a view of 360 degrees without turning their head. Normally they move with the front legs taking the first steps separately, followed by the hind legs stepping together. When they sense danger hares first stand up on their hind legs to assess the area, then bolt. They can jump as far as 2.1 metres in a single bound and can move approximately 60 kilometres an hour. The Arctic hare’s large back feet act like snowshoes that help to keep them from sinking in the snow. Their front feet have long, strong claws that help them dig beneath snow to find food. HABITAT/BEHAVIOUR Like their name says, Arctic hares live north of the treeline. They prefer dry areas in the tundra and avoid marshes. The hares can endure the harsh winters that come with living there. In winter there is little sunlight and temperatures can go down to -40° C. However, in the winter their coat keeps them warm and makes them less vulnerable to predators, as it acts like camouflage in the snow. Hares, unlike other mammals, do not hibernate throughout the winter. They have a great sense of smell that helps them find food buried under the ice and snow. They eat anything leafy and chew on bark, roots and willow. They stay in herds and keep close, but they do not huddle together – they like their personal space. Hares spread out to breed, each couple preferring their own spot. Babies are born in the spring and reach maturity in six months, ready to breed in one year. RANGE Arctic hares live in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ellsemere Island and Northwest Territories – all locations in the tundra ecozone. www.cgkids.ca.

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Camouflage in the Arctic
24 1 Characters 2 23 22 3 4 21 Learning from Arctic Animals Adapting to Freezing Temperatures Most people are familiar with a green and brown camouflage The animals of the Arctic Circle adapt, or change, to pattern. But did you know the US Marine Corps developed a survive the cold, harsh winters. When the SNOW camouflage pattern to wear in snowy regions of the world? temperatures drop and snow falls, many animals in The pattern is called Disruptive Overwhite. It has a white the Arctic must change their summer fur to a winter background with gray digital shapes on nylon fabric. In addition, the nylon is lightweight, blocks wind, and repels the rain or snow. coat. Their food choices also change depending on The garments, such as shirts, pants, and jackets, do more than what is available in the snow-covered tundra, the assist with camouflage. In fact, they also help keep a person’s coldest of all habitats on Earth. body temperature comfortable with special features such as zippers, flaps, or drawstrings. Today, people can purchase these garments in many stores all over the world. 20 5 Changing Colors with the Seasons The fur of some Arctic animals changes from the woodland colors of the fall to pure white like winter snow. If they kept their woodland colors, these Arctic animals would stand out in the white snow and they would be unprotected. So, their fur must change to white. As a result, the animals can hide in the snow from their enemies and search safely for food.
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Appendix Lagomorph Species: Geographical Distribution and Conservation Status
Appendix Lagomorph Species: Geographical Distribution and Conservation Status PAULO C. ALVES1* AND KLAUS HACKLÄNDER2 Lagomorph taxonomy is traditionally controversy, and as a consequence the number of species varies according to different publications. Although this can be due to the conservative characteristic of some morphological and genetic traits, like general shape and number of chromosomes, the scarce knowledge on several species is probably the main reason for this controversy. Also, some species have been discovered only recently, and from others we miss any information since they have been first described (mainly in pikas). We struggled with this difficulty during the work on this book, and decide to include a list of lagomorph species (Table 1). As a reference, we used the recent list published by Hoffmann and Smith (2005) in the “Mammals of the world” (Wilson and Reeder, 2005). However, to make an updated list, we include some significant published data (Friedmann and Daly 2004) and the contribu- tions and comments of some lagomorph specialist, namely Andrew Smith, John Litvaitis, Terrence Robinson, Andrew Smith, Franz Suchentrunk, and from the Mexican lagomorph association, AMCELA. We also include sum- mary information about the geographical range of all species and the current IUCN conservation status. Inevitably, this list still contains some incorrect information. However, a permanently updated lagomorph list will be pro- vided via the World Lagomorph Society (www.worldlagomorphsociety.org). 1 CIBIO, Centro de Investigaçaõ em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos and Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairaõ 4485-661 – Vairaõ, Portugal 2 Institute of Wildlife Biology and Game Management, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Gregor-Mendel-Str.
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Lagomorphs: Pikas, Rabbits, and Hares of the World
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Phylogeography and Historical Demographics of Lepus Arcticus, L
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Arctic Hare (Lepus Arcticus Bangsii)
The Status of Arctic Hare (Lepus arcticus bangsii) in Insular Newfoundland © Steve Sayles THE SPECIES STATUS ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORT NO. 26 February 20, 2012 RECOMMENDED STATUS Recommended status: Current designation: DATA DEFICIENT None Criteria met: Data Deficient Reasons for designation: Uncertain taxonomic distinction Unknown area of occupancy Uncertain number of extant locations Unknown trend in number of locations Unknown habitat trend Uncertain population size Unknown population size trend Unknown if extreme population size fluctuations (>1 order of magnitude) This report was originally prepared by Brian Hearn and subsequently edited by the Species Status Advisory Committee. 2 STATUS REPORT Lepus arcticus bangsii (Rhoads, 1896) Arctic hare (Newfoundland population) lièvre arctique, Ukaliq Family: Leporidae (Hares and Rabbits) Life Form: Mammal Systematic/Taxonomic Clarifications This report examines the arctic hare population on the island of Newfoundland, a population within the subspecies Lepus arcticus bangsii, as a discrete and evolutionarily significant designatable unit because of its geographic and presumed reproductive isolation and its distinction as the southernmost population of arctic hare in North America. The taxonomy of the arctic or northern hare group(s) is disputed. Presently, three species of arctic (northern) hare are recognized: the Arctic hare (Lepus arcticus) occupying the tundra regions of Canada and along the coastal regions of Greenland; the Alaskan hare (Lepus othus) which is restricted to the western and northwestern regions of Alaska; and the Mountain hare (Lepus timidus) which is found throughout most of the Palaearctic region from Great Britain and Fennoscandia to eastern Siberia (Figure 1). Not surprisingly, the taxonomic status of these three species has been a long-standing controversy (Hall 1951, Best and Henry 1994).
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Arctic Wolf Scientific Name: Canis Lupus Arctos the Arctic Wolf Is a Medium to Large, Mostly-White, Wolf Inhabiting North America North of About 60 Degrees N
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Animals Information the Arctic Has Many Large Land Animals
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Comparison of Microstructure of White Winter Fur and Brown Summer Fur of Some Arctic Mammals
Acta Zoologica (Stockholm), Vol. 77, No. 4, pp. 279-282, 1996 Pergamon 0 1997 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd on behalf of The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences All rights reserved. Printed in Great Britain PII: S0001-7272(%)00010-7 OOOI-7272/96 $15.oO+ .oO Comparison of Microstructure of White Winter Fur and Brown Summer Fur of Some Arctic Mammals John E. Russell* and Renn Tumlisont *College of Veterinary Medicine, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, U.S.A. tDepartment of Biology, Henderson State University, Arkadelphia, AR 7 1999, U.S.A. (Accepted for publication I March 1996) Abstract Russell, J. E. & Tumlison, R. 1996. Comparison of microstructure of white winter fur and brown summer fur of some Arctic mammals.-Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 77: 279-282. Several species of Arctic mammals have brown hair in the summer and molt into a white pelage in the winter. It is unknown whether characteristics other than color of the hair also change during the color transition between seasons. We borrowed guard hair samples from museums to represent summer and winter pelages of five species: Alopex lugopus (Arctic fox), Lepus americanus (snowshoe hare), Lepus Arcticus (Arctic hare), Mustela erminea (ermine) and Mustela nivalis (least weasel). Micro-structural differences exist between the brown and white hairs. In general, white winter hairs had larger upper shaft medullas comprising more air-filled cells and smaller lower shafts. These structural changes may function in conservation of heat or in increasing light reflection to whiten the fur and aid as camouflage. 0 1997 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd on behalf of The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
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Arctic Wildlife Guide
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Annual Arctic Wolf Pack Size Related to Arctic Hare Numbers L
University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Wildlife Damage Management, Internet Center for 2007 Annual Arctic Wolf Pack Size Related to Arctic Hare Numbers L. David Mech Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usgsnpwrc Part of the Animal Sciences Commons, Behavior and Ethology Commons, Biodiversity Commons, Environmental Policy Commons, Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration Commons, and the Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons Mech, L. David, "Annual Arctic Wolf Pack Size Related to Arctic Hare Numbers" (2007). USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center. 386. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usgsnpwrc/386 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Wildlife Damage Management, Internet Center for at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. ARCTIC VOL. 60, NO. 3 (SEPTEMBER 2007) P. 309–311 Annual Arctic Wolf Pack Size Related to Arctic Hare Numbers L. DAVID MECH1 (Received 6 October 2006; accepted in revised form 22 January 2007) ABSTRACT. During the summers of 2000 through 2006, I counted arctic wolf (Canis lupus arctos) pups and adults in a pack, arctic hares (Lepus arcticus) along a 9 km index route in the area, and muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) in a 250 km2 part of the area near Eureka (80˚ N, 86˚ W), Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada. Adult wolf numbers did not correlate with muskox numbers, but they were positively related (r2 = 0.89; p < 0.01) to an arctic hare index.
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Arctic Fox Than the Red Fox
Wildlife Fact Sheets Alopex lagopus Arctic Fox than the red fox. For example some foxes from the Keewatin coast have ended up on Cornwallis Island. Range Arctic Fox are found throughout Nunavut. Appearance Habitat The arctic fox has a round head, a blunt nose, short rounded Arctic foxes are found mainly in arctic and alpine tundra, coastal ears and short legs. It is the only canid to change colours with areas and some forested areas in the southern portion of their the seasons. During the winter, its thick coat is white or bluish- range. grey and in the summer the back, tail and outer legs turn brown and the belly and sides become a yellowish white. The Reproduction summer coat is much shorter than the winter one. The arctic Arctic foxes breed once a year between mid-February and April fox looks much bigger than it actually is because of its incred- depending on the physical health and geographic location of the ibly thick fur. After the swift fox, the arctic fox is the smallest animals. At this time, they often travel with a mate. Arctic foxes can wild canid in Canada, weighing between 2.5 and 5kg. It's long have between 4 to 25 pups at a time. The gestation period is a lit- bushy tail is about half the length of its body. tle bit less than 2 months. The young are born blind, deaf and toothless and weigh about 57g each. The young pups come out of Food And Feeding the den when they are between 2 to 4 weeks old and are weaned at In the winter, the arctic fox feeds mainly on lemmings and about this time.
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