About the Arctic Hare

There are basic behaviours that are common to all individual Arctic hares (Lepus arcticus). These behaviours include feeding, grooming, escape from predators and sheltering. Complementing their warm fur, Arctic hares have four special behavioural ’tricks’ to cope with winter cold: posture, orientation, natural shelter and digging of snow dens.

Posture

The almost perfectly spherical shape and prolonged stillness of a huddled Arctic hare are part of its winter strategy for keeping warm. Hares assume this posture when they finish feeding, tucking extremities in tightly in order to conserve warmth by folding their tails down between their hind legs, tucking their forepaws into their chest and lowering their ears down into the fur on their backs. In this position they touch the ground with only the thick pads on their hind feet. They sit like this for hours, thereby conserving precious energy. Although they will sit in the open, they also shelter behind rocks or snow drifts. As daily mean temperatures increase from -20°C (-4°F) in April to 0°C (32°F) in May, their usual resting posture changes from the tightly curled resting sphere to crouching and sprawling.

Orientation

In strong winds, Arctic hares know the trick to staying warm is to keep the wind at their backs when resting or feeding. When wind speeds drop below 10 km/h (6 mph), resting hares turn to face the sun (during those months of the year in which the sun shines).

In winter, hares typically rest together in closely spaced groups. Arctic hares do not huddle together for warmth, except for young littermates in summer. Hares in groups do not usually seek shelter, but solitary hares will groom and rest in the shelter of large rocks, snow drifts and manufactured structures such as cabins.

In summer, hares sometimes dig shallow depressions in soft ground, called 'forms' or 'scrapes', in which to rest. In winter, they dig small forms in the snow. In some areas, Arctic hares dig snow dens up to 1.9 m (6 ft.) long in snowdrifts. Snow dens are not used for feeding.