ELA

MILO JIANG

THE ARTIC HARE

Milo Jiang | 812

1) In the summer months, arctic hares are usually brown and gray, and they shed their fur when the temperatures warm up. But in the winter, the arctic hare's fur turns snowy white to match the winter landscape. Only the tips of their ears stay dark. 2) Arctic hares are the largest hares. A full-grown arctic hare is usually around two feet long, and weighs about twelve pounds. It has long, muscular hind legs and feet that allows it to move quickly over snow and ice--up to 40 mph! Arctic hares don't take short hops like bunnies. They use their powerful hind legs to propel themselves, like kangaroos. 3) As the largest of the hares, arctic hares need special adaptations and behavior to survive in cold Arctic winters. Their ears are much shorter than those of desert hares. Shorter ears mean that the hares can warm themselves more efficiently; their hearts don't have to pump blood so far from the center of their bodies. 4) Arctic hares have unusual habits that help protect them from cold environment and predators. Sometimes they huddle in large groups, hundreds of them, keeping their bodies close together for warmth. 5) Male hares called "bucks," mate with a female hare or "doe," during the spring. After she mates, a doe carries her litter for about fifty days before she gives birth. She may have up to nine "leverets," or young arctic hares, at once. The leverets are ready for life in Alaska almost as soon as they are born. They can see clearly and burrow their own forms when they are only a few days old.