Snowshoe hares are known for their distinctive features and role in the North American wilderness. Named for their oversized hind feet, which are lined with stiff hairs, allowing them to traverse snowy landscapes without sinking. Their fur undergoes a remarkable seasonal transformation, changing from a rusty brown in warmer months to a bright white in winter, providing camouflage against their surroundings. Primarily found in the dense undergrowth of boreal and coniferous forests, snowshoe hares serve as a foundational prey species for many predators, influencing the dynamics of their ecosystems.
Year-Round Diet
Snowshoe hares maintain a herbivorous diet, relying on a variety of plant materials available throughout the year. Their food sources generally include twigs, bark, buds, and small branches from various woody plants. This consistent consumption of woody browse forms a fundamental part of their sustenance. Hares are known to browse heavily on vegetation, often creating noticeable “hare lines” in their environment. The specific types of woody plants consumed can vary based on regional availability, demonstrating their adaptability to different forest types.
Seasonal Menu Changes
While woody browse remains a staple, the snowshoe hare’s diet undergoes significant shifts with the changing seasons, adapting to the availability of different plant types.
Summer and Spring Foraging
During spring and summer, snowshoe hares consume abundant green vegetation. Their diet includes tender herbaceous plants, including grasses, clover, dandelions, and various leaves. They also consume ferns, jewelweed, and the new growth of woody vegetation. This period offers a diverse and nutrient-rich menu, supporting their energy needs for reproduction and growth.
Winter Foraging
As winter arrives, snowshoe hares transition to a diet primarily of woody browse. They feed on twigs, buds, and bark from coniferous and deciduous trees. Common winter food items include willow, aspen, birch, alder, and maple. Conifers such as spruce, fir, pine, and hemlock also become part of their winter sustenance. Hares typically prefer to clip twigs that are about 3 to 4 millimeters in diameter, though they can handle stems up to 1.5 centimeters if necessary. They may even stand on their hind legs to reach higher branches, with deep snow providing a platform to access more food.
Physical Adaptations for Foraging
Snowshoe hares possess physical characteristics that enable them to process their plant-based diet. Their dentition includes sharp incisors for clipping twigs and bark. Behind these, they have a second pair of peg-like incisors, along with molars that grind the fibrous plant material. This arrangement of teeth allows them to break down tough woody vegetation.
The digestive system of a snowshoe hare is adapted for extracting nutrients from their high-fiber diet. They are hindgut fermenters, meaning much of their digestion occurs in the cecum, a pouch-like structure located between the small and large intestines. Here, symbiotic bacteria break down plant fibers, making proteins and B-vitamins available. To maximize nutrient absorption, snowshoe hares practice coprophagy, re-ingesting specialized soft fecal pellets, called cecotropes, which contain these newly produced nutrients. This process allows them to extract additional nourishment that would otherwise be lost.