Winter has settled in. The woods are dressed in white and it’s prime time for snowshoeing.

Rather than ash hoops and rawhide web (or kevlar and aircraft aluminum), the snowshoeing I’m referring to involves furry white critters, though the two are certainly not mutually exclusive. In fact, a pair of snowshoes is often recommended attire when chasing their namesakes in the animal kingdom: the snowshoe hare.

Snowshoe hare season began back in October, but most folks defer to upland birds and deer during the fall. It is only after the other seasons have wound down and white covers the ground that hare hunters take to the woods in earnest.

The season persists through the month of March, which is breeding season for snowshoes and when they conduct the animated courtship rituals that engendered the expression, “mad as a March hare.”

Males, or bucks, are particularly aggressive in battling rival suitors for the affections of a very important date. While their charging, kicking and wrestling may appear comical to us, to them it is quite serious business.

The snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) is one of the most common and abundant creatures in the Maine woods.

Many people think the hare is a rodent, but it’s actually a lagamorph. The primary difference is in its dental structure. Rodents possess one pair of upper incisors, or front teeth). Lagamorphs actually have two: one pair of large upper incisors similar to that of rodents, and directly behind them, another, much smaller pair of incisors.

Folks often refer to the hare colloquially as a rabbit, but there are several distinct differences between rabbits and hares, the most significant being their newborn young.

Rabbits are altricial, meaning they are born naked and blind. Hares are precocial, born hairy, with eyes wide open and ready to roll. Think baby robins versus baby chickens.

Hares also have longer ears and hind legs. Members of both genera change their pelage, or fur color, in summer and winter. However, while the rabbits’ brown summer fur is replaced with grayer fur in winter, hares change from brown to white. This is why the snowshoe is also sometimes referred to as the varying hare.

This color change has some obvious advantages for a creature living in northern latitudes. It blends very nicely into a wintry background of snow. Occasionally, however, mother nature plays a cruel trick on the hare. When winter snows arrive late or leave early, the white hares stand out starkly against a gray-brown background, making them easier prey for four-legged, two-legged or winged predators.

Hares play a particularly important role as a prey species. Their populations tend to follow cycles, growing steadily over several years until they peak, then crash.

Populations of some predators, particularly the lynx, follow similar cycles. When hares are abundant, the lynx have plenty of food. Their populations grow in number and expand in range. When hares are scarce, lynx populations contract.

Based on his research of historical trapping records, Dr. William Krohn surmises this likely has been the case for a long time. The lynx is a peripheral species in Maine, occurring principally along our border with Canada. It has never been abundant in Maine and likely never will be.

Hares are also an important buffer species. When abundant, they take predatory pressure off other species, like deer. However, the cyclical nature of their populations can have a negative lag effect. Predator populations rise in sync with prey populations. When the hare population crashes, elevated populations of predators like the coyote shift their attention back to deer.

Hunting mortality on snowshoe hares is thought to be largely compensatory. A certain number will perish each winter from hunting, predation, disease and other natural causes. If more are killed by hunters, less will perish from natural causes. Furthermore, hares share one important trait with their close cousins. They breed like rabbits and will more than compensate for winter losses in the ensuing spring.

Regardless, hunting pressure is generally light, particularly when compared with other types of hunting. Most folks have hung up their guns for the season and switched to snowmobiles, downhill skis or ice-fishing traps.

A dedicated few however, will take to the woods with a brace of beagles and listen to the music as their short-legged hounds chase hares on a long, circuitous loop that often ends up where it began.

A few others may don nordic skis or snowshoes and still-hunt through young growth, searching ardently for a flash of white movement or an unblinking black eye hidden amongst the underbrush.

Then they’ll return to home or camp, fix a hearty meal and for once won’t complain if there’s a hare in their soup.

Bob Humphrey is a freelance writer, registered Maine Guide and a certified wildlife biologist who provides consultation to private landowners interested in improving wildlife habitat. He can be contacted at:

bhhunt@maine.rr.com

 

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