Mammals
Black-Tailed Jackrabbit
Lepus californicus · also called black-tailed jackrabbits
Bounding across open desert scrub at dusk, a black-tailed jackrabbit relies entirely on speed and a sudden burst of direction changes to shake off a pursuing coyote, its enormous ears trailing behind, still radiating away the heat of the day just passed.
Overview
The black-tailed jackrabbit, Lepus californicus, is a fast, desert-adapted hare native to desert and open grassland habitat across a broad range of the western and southwestern United States and parts of Mexico. Its oversized heat-shedding ears, reliance on speed rather than burrows for safety, and status as a true hare rather than a rabbit make it one of the more physically distinctive mammals of the American desert Southwest.
Built for heat and built for speed
Rather than digging in to escape the desert sun or its predators, the black-tailed jackrabbit has evolved to handle both challenges out in the open, shedding heat through its ears and outrunning danger on some of the fastest legs of any North American mammal its size.
Status
Least Concern, widespread and abundant across suitable desert and grassland habitat throughout the western and southwestern United States and parts of Mexico.
Black-Tailed Jackrabbit: common questions
Why does the black-tailed jackrabbit have such large ears?
This species has unusually large ears containing a dense network of blood vessels close to the surface, an adaptation that allows it to release excess body heat efficiently, a genuinely important function for surviving the hot desert and grassland habitat it occupies across much of its range.
Is the black-tailed jackrabbit a rabbit or a hare?
Despite the word rabbit appearing in its common name, this species is actually a true hare, born fully furred and mobile shortly after birth rather than blind and helpless the way true rabbits are typically born, a key biological distinction between the two groups.
Why doesn't the black-tailed jackrabbit dig burrows?
This species relies on speed and endurance rather than underground shelter for protection, using powerful legs capable of high running speeds and sudden direction changes to outrun predators across open ground instead of retreating into a burrow.
When is the black-tailed jackrabbit most active?
This species is most active during the cooler hours around dawn, dusk, and at night, resting in shallow depressions called forms during the hottest part of the day to avoid unnecessary heat exposure.