Species: Lepus californicus
Black-tailed Jackrabbit
Species
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Lagomorpha
Family
Leporidae
Genus
Lepus
NatureServe
Classification
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Mammals - Other Mammals
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Mammalia - Lagomorpha - Leporidae - Lepus
Ecology and Life History
Migration
true - false - false
Non-migrant
true
Locally Migrant
false
Food Comments
Forages on grasses, forbs, crops and hay in summer; buds, bark, leaves of woody plants in winter. Obtains water from vegetation. Reingests soft fecal pellets produced while resting.
Reproduction Comments
Breeding period may extend from late winter to late summer. Gestation lasts 41-47 days. Females produce 1-4 litters of 1-8 (usually 2-4) precocial young each year (Jones et al. 1983).
Ecology Comments
Populations are known to fluctuate markedly, slowly reaching peak over several years, falling off rapidly in several weeks or months (Larrison and Johnson 1981). Populations increase with overgrazing. Commonly carries tularemia. May travel up to a mile from daytime retreat to night feeding area. May gather in large group to feed. Home range varies from less than 1 sq km to 3 sq km in northern Utah (Smith 1990).
Length
63
Weight
3600
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
1996-11-05
Global Status Last Changed
1996-11-05
Other Status
LC - Least concern
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
<img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?US.AZ=S5&US.AR=S1&US.CA=SNR&US.CO=S5&US.FL=SE&US.ID=S5&US.KS=S4&US.MA=SE&US.MO=S1&US.MT=S2&US.NN=S5&US.NE=S5&US.NV=S5&US.NJ=SE&US.NM=S5&US.OK=S5&US.OR=S4&US.SD=S4&US.TX=S5&US.UT=S5&US.VA=SE&US.WA=S2&US.WY=S5" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
Global Range
Western North America, from the Pacific Coast east to Missouri and Arkansas, and from Washington, Idaho, southwestern Montana, eastern Wymong, and South Dakota south to Baja California, northern Sonora, southern Queretaro, and Hidalgo, central Mexico (Jones et al. 1983; Hoffmann, in Wilson and Reeder 1993; Best 1996). Releases have been made in Florida, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Virginia (see Best 1996).