Somewhat mysterious and difficult to spot, count yourself lucky if you see the Arctic hare

Alaska has no wild rabbits. We only have hares: varying hares — we call them snowshoe hares — and Arctic hares. Arctic hares are the largest wild lagomorph — family of rabbits, hares and pikas — in the world. The European brown hare is slightly lengthier, but not quite as heavy. The European brown hare and the Arctic hare inhabit similar terrain on their separate continents.

The Arctic hare has several subspecies. The Alaskan hare is native to the western coast of Alaska from Kotzebue to far south on the Alaska Peninsula. These big hares like open tundra with scattered patches of willows and alder. Adult Alaskan hares weigh 10 or 11 pounds. The Greenland version is slightly larger.

I saw my first Arctic hare in the Bristol Bay area in the early 1970s. It was late May and the leaves were not yet green. The hare was sitting still next to a 55-gallon drum. His head was even with the second ring on the drum. My familiarity was with our little varying hares, so I was properly amazed. A year later, out on the tundra north and east of Shaktoolik, I encountered a group of a dozen hares in a group. They were completely white and stood out on the brown landscape from more than a mile away.

Naturally, being a hungry kid on a long walk, I did a careful stalk and took one with the .22. Surprisingly, the 10-pound animal didn’t yield much meat. The hide is thick and heavy. Head, feet and bones constitute much of the rest. My best estimate was approximately 3 pounds of food. The dog and I took care of the hare in one sitting.

Alaskan hares are normally solitary except in the spring when it is mating season. Breeding is in late April. The young are born after a 46-day gestation period, though as with all lagomorphs, this is not locked in. Gestation can run up as long as 52 to 53 days. Six or seven young are born in late May or early June. Like all hares, they hit the ground with their eyes wide open and can motor as soon are they are dry. They leave the shallow depression they are born in almost immediately and travel with mom. The youngsters keep close to the willow thickets for protection from predators.

Snowy owls, goshawks and eagles come from the air. Fox, wolverines and wolves are after the little ones from the ground. Hares can get up and go; adults can run 40 mph. The leverets are not that fast so they depend on the thickets for cover until they are weaned at a couple months of age. They are breeding by the end of their first year.

The high-low cycles of varying hares is well known, but Arctic hares, given their remote habitats, are not quite as easy to study. Anecdotal evidence suggests that they do indeed cycle, but not as reliably as do their smaller relatives. It is hard to study them in captivity as they are tough to raise in a closed environment that is different than their preferred habitat. Alaskan hares only live a year and a half, at best, as captives, while wild hares may reach four or five years of age.

Hares are hunted in Western Alaska for food and pelts. The fur, much more durable that of the varying hares, is used to line slippers, mittens and parka hoods. They can be snared occasionally in willow or alder thickets, but that is a hit-and-miss scenario. Most Arctic hares are shot, though getting close enough for a shot on open tundra is not easy. Most are taken in spring and fall when their pelage is out of sync with the current weather pattern. Hares change color based on light, thus a white critter on brown tundra is quite vulnerable. The present hunting season runs Nov. 1 through January with a limit of one per day and four per season.

Arctic hares are one of our least common Alaskan animals. Their limited, remote range makes it tough for most to have an opportunity to spot one. Seldom numerous in Alaska, the large, shy hare remains a mystery to most Alaskans. Count yourself lucky if you have the opportunity to see one.