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Hares and Rabbits: Leporidae

Hares And Rabbits And People

Rabbits and hares are hunted worldwide for sport. They are both hunted and raised commercially for their meat and fur. Several species are used extensively in laboratories. Rabbits are also raised as pets.

TEN-YEAR CYCLE

A unusual and striking feature of the snowshoe hare is its ten-year cycle of population increase and decline. The number of litters per year and the number of young per litter is higher for about three years, declines in the next three or four years, and then drops significantly in the last three or four years of the cycle. Why this happens is not completely understood by scientists but they believe it is caused by one or more factors, such as food availability, predation, and social interactions.

Additional topics

Animal Life ResourceMammalsHares and Rabbits: Leporidae - Physical Characteristics, Behavior And Reproduction, Hares And Rabbits And People, Conservation Status, Snowshoe Hare (lepus Americanus): Species Accounts - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, HABITAT, DIET