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Jackrabbit
[ A jackrabbit ] Although they are called 'rabbits', jackrabbits are actually hares from the deserts of United States and Mexico. Jackrabbits have large, long ears that act as radiators to help them keep cool. During the day, when it is hot, their body heat is carried away from the body to the fine blood vessels in the ears. The large surface area of the ears radiate away the body heat and they can stay cool. If it is cold, jackrabbits will flatten their ears against their bodies to prevent the body heat from escaping. Like other hares, they have a sharp sense of hearing for warning them of dangerous predators. Jackrabbits can hear their predators from a distance and run back to safety. They also put their ears on the ground to listen to thumps made by other jackrabbits. Jackrabbits can run to safety quickly. Their muscular hind legs enable them to run at a high speed of 72kph. They are not so easily caught and this greatly increases their chance of survival. At twilight, when it is cooler, jackrabbits come out to look for food. Their main diet, yucca plants and cacti, have so much moisture in them that jackrabbits don't have to drink water if they eat enough food. Jackrabbits have found out a special way to eat cacti without getting pricked by the spines. First, they nibble around the spines. Then, when the spines fall out, they can eat the flesh inside.
[A jackrabbit hopping ] DID YOU KNOW? Jackrabbits don't dig their own burrows. They just creep into another animal's burrow or crouch in a shallow hole in the ground to stay cool. Enemies * Coyotes * Bobcats * Hawks * Owls etc.
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