Module 3 • Ecology: Adaptation and Change
Teacher Notes 3-5e
Characteristics of the Arctic Hare
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Color
In winter, the fur of the Arctic hare is bright white, except for black tips on the ears. The white
pelage blends perfectly with a snowy background. This security of camouflage probably accounts
for their well-known lack of fear at this time of year, when they are often so tame that they can be
approached very closely.
In mid-summer, when their camouflage is not as effective, Arctic hares are wary and difficult to
approach. In the High Arctic, where summers are short (six to eight weeks), a sandy brown or grey
wash appears on the nose, forehead and ears, and occasionally on the back. The predominant color,
however, remains the snowy white of winter, which makes High-Arctic Arctic hares starkly visible
against a snow-free background and therefore more vulnerable to predators. In the more southern
reaches of their range (including Baffin Island, Nunavut), where the summer is somewhat longer,
the white coat changes to brown with blue-grey tones, while the tail and parts of the ears and legs
remain white.
Young are born in June with mottled grey-brown fur. Their fur blends so well with the colors of the
tundra that they are very difficult to see. By September, young are almost as white as adults but they
retain a brown topknot.
Fur
Arctic hares (Lepus arcticus) do not hibernate. Instead, to survive the Arctic cold they rely on one key
physical characteristic—their fur—as well as on special coping behaviors.
Arctic hares can be active all winter because of the insulating quality of their fur coat. A short, thick
and warm underfur is protected by the longer, silky top fur. A hare with fat for 20 percent of its
body weight could live for 15 days at –24°C (11°F) on that stored fat alone because of this excellent
insulation.
The time of shedding fur and the molting patterns vary with latitude. Not much is known about the
molting pattern but it has been assumed that the annual molt starts in June. During his research at
Sverdrup Pass on Ellesmere Island (now in Nunavut), biologist Dr. David Gray saw hares begin losing
their winter coats in April, when temperatures still hover around –30°C (–22°F). Nursing females seem
to molt later than other Arctic hares.
The black fur on the ear tips may be a way of keeping the sensitive ear tips warmer when the sun is
shining. Black ear tips are common to many species of hares.
Feet
The hind feet are padded with a heavy, slightly yellowish brush of thick and coarse fur. Arctic hares
have five toes with claws on the front feet and four toes with smaller claws on the hind feet.
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Module 3 • Ecology: Adaptation and Change
Teacher Notes 3-5e
Recycling: Reingestion
The Arctic hare employs the specialized digestive system of recycling that is common to all members
of the hare and rabbit families. This system is called reingestion or refection. It allows better
utilization of nutrients.
The first stage in the digestion process takes place in the usual manner in the hare’s digestive system.
This produces a soft fecal pellet of partially digested plant material. The hare eats this soft pellet
directly from the anus. The end result the second time around is a round, hard pellet.
Reingestion of the soft fecal pellets happens during rest periods. The hard round pellets are passed
while the hare is moving and feeding.
The Senses
Smell
The Arctic hare’s sense of smell is well developed and the nose and nostrils are constantly moving,
checking the airborne scents. Arctic hares sniff the snow or ground in searching for food, and they
check rocks and other objects frequently for the scent of other hares.
At Sverdrup Pass on Ellesmere Island (now in Nunavut), David Gray observed that adult male hares
frequently rub their chin over rocks, and, in his camp, on box corners and tie-down cords. They leave
a distinctive smell on objects they have rubbed.
Vision
Arctic hares have large eyes placed at the side of the head. The position of the eyes gives hares an
extremely broad range of vision. Without turning their head, they can see almost 360° around them.
The pupils are round and the iris is a dark reddish brown. The Arctic hare’s black eyelashes protect
against the sun’s glare, just as do sunglasses or the black paint football players use below their eyes.
Hearing
Arctic hares are able to move their long, furred ears into different positions. When alerted by an
unusual sound, they will turn their ears so the opening faces the direction of the sound’s origin. Also,
ears are important for communication through body language.
Locomotion
The normal locomotion pattern for a feeding hare is a four-legged hop. The two forefeet move
ahead a step each, and then the hind legs move forward together.
When alarmed, Arctic hares stand straight upright on their hind legs, often bouncing up and down
on tiptoe while assessing the danger. This posture is a striking adaptation to the environment, in
which the hare gains a better view of the treeless tundra from the higher vantage-point. If the
danger is real they bound away at top speed, hopping on hind feet much as a kangaroo does, with
the forelegs held against the chest. They usually flee uphill. In this manner a wary hare can easily
outdistance most would-be predators.
David Gray recorded video of an Arctic hare fleeing an Arctic fox at Sverdrup Pass. The hare left five
sets of hind foot prints as it hopped up a snowbank. The average distance between the prints of the
hind feet was 1.7 m (5 ft. 8 in.) the longest jump was a full 2.08 m (6 ft. 10 in.).
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Individual Behavior
There are basic behaviors that are common to all individual Arctic hares. These behaviors include
feeding, grooming, escape from predators, and sheltering. Complementing their warm fur, Arctic
hares have four special behavioral “tricks” to cope with winter cold: posture, orientation, seeking
natural shelter, and digging of snow dens.
Posture
The almost perfectly spherical shape and prolonged stillness of a huddled Arctic hare are part of
its winter strategy for keeping warm. Hares assume this posture when they finish feeding, tucking
extremities in tightly in order to conserve warmth by folding their tails down between their hind
legs, tucking their forepaws into their chest, and lowering their ears down into the fur on their
backs. In this position they touch the ground with only the thick pads on their hind feet. They sit
like this for hours, thereby conserving precious energy. Although they will sit in the open, they also
shelter behind rocks or snow drifts. As daily mean temperatures increase from –20°C (–4°F) in April
to 0°C (32°F) in May, their usual resting posture changes from the tightly curled resting sphere to
crouching and sprawling.
Orientation
In strong winds, Arctic hares know the trick to staying warm is to keep the wind at their backs when
resting or feeding. When wind speeds drop below 10 km/h (6 mph), resting hares turn to face the
sun (during those months of the year in which the sun shines).
Shelter-Seeking
In winter, hares typically rest together in closely spaced groups. Arctic hares do not huddle together
for warmth, except for young littermates in summer. Hares in groups do not usually seek shelter,
but solitary hares will groom and rest in the shelter of large rocks, snow drifts, and manufactured
structures such as cabins.
Shelter-Digging
In summer, hares sometimes dig shallow depressions in soft ground, called forms or scrapes, in which
to rest. In winter, they dig small forms in the snow. In some areas, Arctic hares dig snow dens up to
1.9 m (6 ft.) long in snowdrifts. Snow dens are not used for feeding.
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