Black-tailed Jackrabbit

Black-tailed jackrabbits are true hares, not rabbits, and the difference shows from birth — leverets arrive fully furred, eyes open, and moving within hours, a far cry from the blind, nearly naked young cottontails produce. They range across open rangeland, desert scrub, and agricultural edges of the western United States and Mexico, and rather than lean on dense cover to hide, jackrabbits escape predators with exceptionally long ears for early warning, powerful hind legs, and zigzagging bursts of speed up to 40 mph. A black stripe down the back and a black-tipped tail set it apart from other hares.