The jackrabbit in Modoc County, California. Enjoy country living.

These guys can eat just about anything including tough grasses, leaves, twigs and they also eat sagebrush and cacti. Some experts claim these rabbits only come out at night to feed. However, I normally see them eating my back lawn for breakfast in the early mornings and again dining on it in the evenings. The rabbits rarely have to drink and get most of their water from the plants they eat. They also conserve water by eating their food twice.

Jackrabbits have a few natural predators, including hawks and eagles and coyotes and really hungry mountain lions, but they also have some defenses against them. They have the normal acute senses of hearing and smell that most wild animals have. With their long, rangy legs they also have speed on their side, and can run in bursts up to 45 MPH. They prefer open spaces where they can see danger coming, but aren't averse to hiding from predators in brush or culverts. I personally saw one nearly out-run a hawk's attack plunge. I say nearly, as I think that if he weren't able to quickly sprint under cover of an old mobile home, he probably would have lost the race.

One of the most interesting and unique habits of these rabbits is that the mother will leave new born leverets in separate hiding places, and come back in the evening to nurse each one. After about a month the leverets leave the nest and are independent.

The following paragraph provides some plain old facts on the jackrabbit, including their range, characteristics, diet and habits.

Black-Tailed Jackrabbit

Range: Western U.S. and northern Mexico.

Habitat: Generally open areas in desert, chaparral and high desert climates. After birth, the mother will leave the leverets in separate hiding places or nests, and come back in the evening to nurse each one. After one month they are on their own.

Description: Their fur is a silver and tan color that blends in well with the habitat that it lives in. The soles of a jackrabbit's feet are covered with fur to cushion their feet on hard ground and insulate them from the heat of desert sand. They have black tips on the ears and the tail is black. Males can weigh from 9-11 pounds, and females a little larger at 11-13 pounds. They are from 16-28 inches long, with a 2-5 inch tail.

Status: Common, not threatened nor endangered.

Breeding: They reach sexual maturity in 1 year. After mating, the female, or doe, will have a litter of 1-6 leverets every 3-4 months.

Notes: These rabbits eat the same food twice to conserve water and get more nutrients. Thus they will eat their own feces.

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A jackrabbit can be a real pest to gardeners because their diet includes most yard plants, lawns, flowers and garden vegetables. I spray my high-value plants with an organic pest deterrent called Liquid Fence, and so far they haven't given me any problems. They eat my lawn grass, with often as many as 7-8 of them congregating on my back lawn at a time, but I don't bother them; I'm going to mow it anyway! You might say we've learned how to co-exist with these critters!

Country Critters - The Jackrabbit