Sunday, January 1, 2017

Things are hopping here in the North





I finally got some trail camera photos of snowshoe hares. In the past they have hopped right through my trail camera spots without setting off the cameras. This time I set the cameras just two feet off the ground and sure enough they clicked.
There are lots of "bunny" tracks this winter. That is usually all you see because it is very difficult to see a white bunny against the snow.
These "rabbits" are so confident in their camouflage that they will sit perfectly still sometimes even when you are close. I once saw two dogs run within a few feet of a sitting rabbit without it moving.  When it isn't trying to blend in, however, the bunnies hop all over the place and I think this too helps throw off some predators, like foxes. By hopping all around the rabbit spreads its scent everywhere. It can be impossible to pinpoint exactly where the rabbit currently is sitting.
Other than foxes, the major predators of bunnies are lynxes and owls. Both of these creatures hunt strictly by sight. If the bunny doesn't know they are around and moves, it's a goner.
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