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Arctic hare - In Newfoundland and southern Labrador, the Arctic hare changes its coat color, moulting and growing new fur, from brown or grey in the summer to white in the winter, like some other Arctic animals including ermine and ptarmigan, enabling it to remain camouflaged as the environment changes. [2]
Convergent evolution of snow camouflage in Arctic hare, ermine, and ptarmigan provided early evidence for natural selection. In his 1889 book Darwinism, the naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace considered the white coloration of Arctic animals.
The Arctic hare [2] (Lepus arcticus) is a species of hare highly adapted to living in the Arctic tundra and other icy biomes. The Arctic hare survives with shortened ears and limbs, a small nose, fat that makes up close to 20% of its body, and a thick coat of fur. It usually digs holes in the ground or under the snow to keep warm and to sleep.
Among animals, variable snow camouflage is a type of seasonal polyphenism with a distinct winter plumage or pelage. It is found in birds such as the rock ptarmigan, lagomorphs such as the Arctic hare, mustelids such as the stoat, and one canid, the Arctic fox. Since these have evolved separately, the similar appearance is due to convergent ...
On a longer timescale, animals like the Arctic hare, Arctic fox, stoat, and rock ptarmigan have snow camouflage, changing their coat colour (by moulting and growing new fur or feathers) from brown or grey in the summer to white in the winter; the Arctic fox is the only species in the dog family to do so. [87]
The snowshoe hare is also distinguishable by the black tufts of fur on the edge of its ears. Its ears are shorter than those of most other hares. In summer, it feeds on plants such as grass, ferns, and leaves; in winter, it eats twigs, the bark from trees, and plants and, similar to the Arctic hare, has been known to occasionally eat dead ...
Scientists and hunters continue to work together for the best good of all concerned parties: the reindeer, the hunters, the general populace of Greenland, and the very sensitive and vulnerable range grounds, since Greenland's tundra is more sensitive than elsewhere in the Arctic due to the ever-present inland ice sheet. This ice sheet acts like ...
European hare (above) compared with a mountain hare Stuffed mountain hare, showing the winter pelage The mountain hare is a large species, though it is slightly smaller than the European hare . It grows to a length of 45–65 cm (18–26 in), with a tail of 4–8 cm ( 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 –3 in), and a mass of 2–5.3 kg ( 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 – 11 + 3 ⁄ 4 ...