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Northwest Wildlife Online
Order Lagomorpha: Pikas, Hares, and Rabbits
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Pictured above is a lagomorph sometimes described as a comic book character come to life. The Pika, Ochonata prineps, inhabits high elevations of mountainous, rocky terrain. To see one of these little guys is to love them; with their oversized ears and innocent mouse like face they are simply the cutest dadburn lagomorph going.
Do you love rabbits, have one or plan to get one? I have raised several of these guys and they actually make wonderful (they can even be housebroken) pets when properly cared for. If there is a lagomorph in your life or one on the way learn "Pet Rabbit Care Secrets." Click Here!
Two Families and 9 Species of Order Lagamorpha represent wildlife in the Northwest:
Family Ochotonidae - Pikas
Pika - Ochotona princeps
Family Leporidae - Rabbits and Hares
White-tailed Jackrabbit
Black-tailed Jackrabbit
Snowshoe Hare
Pygmy Rabbit
Mountain Cottontail Rabbit
Eastern Cottontail Rabbit
Brush Rabbit
European Rabbit
Inoffensive prey of nearly every carnivore in America it's a wonder we have any rabbits at all let alone so many of them. Rattlesnakes, owls, eagles, fox, wolves, cougar, lynx, bobcats, weasels, bears, and, of course, man - seems everyone is trying to make a meal out of one of these cute little lagomorphs.
But don't let the looks fool you. Rabbits and hares have adapted to these challenges. They are fast and wary, prolific breeders, and masters of camouflage. Even specialized hare hunters like the lynx strike out far more times than they succeed. A casual glance at a member of this order reveals two secrets to their survival skills. Those radar like, oversized ears are not for show. Extremely sensitive, the slightest crack of a dry blade of grass is picked up and instantly magnified. Large, bulbous eyes are perfectly arranged on opposite sides of the skull. A rabbit's ocular position provides almost 360 degree vision. Add to this a remarkable sense of smell plus a body designed for explosive leaps and athletic, zigzagg bursts of speed - and you have an animal well suited to survive.
Jackrabbits and hares, genus Lepus, are distinguished from rabbits in body type and in the development of the young at birth. Lepus are generally larger animals. Their ears, rear legs, and feet are much larger in relation to the rest of body than the rabbits. The young of jackrabbits and hares are well developed when born and quite ready to take up a running and leaping life a very short time after birth.
At 10 to 12 pounds our White-tailed and Black-tailed jackrabbits tower over all other species of Northwestern Lagomorphs. Washington and Oregon define the northern most limits of their habitats. The Snowshoe hare, preferred meal of the lynx, is a much smaller animal, about one third the size of the jackrabbits and hares. Snowshoe hare, however, range much further north and south, extending from Alaska to southern California.
Our Northwestern rabbits and cottontails, genus Sylvilagus, range in size from the 15 ounce Pigmy Rabbit to the relatively large Eastern Cottontail. At nearly four pounds the Eastern Cottontail, an introduced rabbit from the eastern US, is also the most widespread Lagomorph in the country. Our largest rabbit is another introduced species. The European rabbit, introduced to the Northwest as a game animal, is now well established throughout the country.
Qualifying as the cutest of the cute is the little Pika. Looking like an oversized version of the mouse in the Tom and Jerry cartoon, the quarter of a pound pika inhabits mountain slopes nearly throughout the western portion of the US. Named for the shrill, "pee-ka" call of alarm they are prone to give at every provocation, pikas are usually heard before they are seen. Scurry is the best way to describe pika locomotion; their shorter legs prevent the kind of running and leaping of their lagomorph cousins.
A little known fact about rabbits is that they are easily housebroken. They can be kept in indoors as pets and are quite clean. They are notorious gnawers, however, and will gladly chew up anything within reach. And one more thing before you run out and get a rabbit for a cute conversation piece. Rabbits eat their own feces; sort of a lagormorphic recycling technique to get the most bang for the buck foodwise. It's a bit unsettling to the unaware.
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