FTLComm - Tisdale - June 14, 2000

We all just call them rabbits but in Saskatchewan we have three very distinct kinds of bunnies. The most common rabbit in the South Eastern part of the province is the common "bush rabbit" which is about half the size of the one in these pictures. In Northern Saskatchewan in the boreal forest we have the big footed "snowshoe rabbit" which is similar in size to the bush rabbit but with much larger feet.

This pair were checking out the ESSO bulk station Tuesday afternoon and are not rabbits at all but "hares" and commonly referred to as "jack rabbits". The Jack rabbit has two things going for it size and speed. Almost three feet in length as it stretches out at full speed which can be a blistering pace across open country these rodents can be pretty impressive. During the thirties many families depended upon harvesting one of these fellows for a meal now and then but in those times it required a good marksman and long rife amunition. During the 1950s one of my friends had a trap line and though he often tried to trap or shoot a Jack, most of his rabbits were the slow and small bush rabbit who's soft little hide would bring him less then a dollar. For unknown reasons bush rabbits seem to have cycles when they are extremely plentiful and times when they become inordinately scarce. Jack rabbits on the other hand range over a large area and seem to have a constant population. Their main preditor is not people but rather coyotes and fox who prey on the young. A coyote or fox would have little hope of running down a full size Jack rabbit.