What Jackrabbits Really Eat to Survive the Wild

Jackrabbits are not really rabbits at all. Instead, they are hares. These hares, with their long back legs and large ears, have a massive appetite and can eat up to one pound of food in a day. This means they must forage extensively during seasons when food is not as plentiful. Given that jackrabbits can be found in different habitats throughout the United States, their diets vary depending on the state they live in. However, when it comes to what jackrabbits really eat to survive in the wild, the answer may not be surprising, as these quick hares are herbivores.

What Jackrabbits Eat In the Wild to Survive

Jackrabbits are strictly herbivores. This means they only eat plant matter. The specific types of plants, grasses, and other vegetation that jackrabbits eat depend on where they live. However, jackrabbits are opportunistic eaters and will snack on just about any type of plant if it is available to them.

Some of the most common plants that jackrabbits eat include:

It is also common for jackrabbits to find their way into gardens to sample the food growing there. This is why so many farmers and backyard gardeners get upset with jackrabbits, as an entire crop can be decimated in a matter of days if a large enough population is present.

Where Jackrabbits Live

Jackrabbits are not a species found worldwide. Instead, jackrabbits are only found in the western United States, portions of Canada, and Mexico.

Specifically, the states in the US where jackrabbits live today include:

• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Idaho
• Kansas
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Mexico
• Oregon
• Texas
• Utah
• Washington
• Wyoming

The types of jackrabbits found in the US are the black-tailed jackrabbit and the white-tailed jackrabbit. Each has a preferred ecosystem in which it lives and provides benefits to those ecosystems in a multitude of ways.

Jackrabbits Are a Massive Benefit to the Ecosystems They Live In

Jackrabbits are incredibly important to the ecosystems they live in. This is because jackrabbits not only act as herbivores, but they are also prey. As jackrabbits eat grasses, bushes, crops, and more, they help the plants to propagate by spreading seeds. This is achieved by consuming items like prickly pears, which disperse seeds both as they spill from the fruit during ingestion and as they pass through the body during digestion. Additionally, invasive plants are kept in check in environments where jackrabbits live. By eating these invasive plants, native species that are meant to grow in the desert or on the plains have a better chance of surviving and not being crowded out.

While jackrabbits are herbivores and do not eat animals, they are prey for other animals in their ecosystems. Some of the animals that eat jackrabbits include:

• Hawks
• Coyotes
• Bobcats
• Foxes
• Mountain lions

It is because of the number of jackrabbits in their habitats that these environments flourish. However, with jackrabbit populations declining, there is a very real possibility that regions where jackrabbits were once abundant will see them disappear.

Various Species of Jackrabbits Are Facing Population Declines

Jackrabbits as a group are not on the brink of extinction. However, of the five different species of jackrabbits in the US, there are some that are faring better than others. The jackrabbit populations most at risk are the white-tailed and black-tailed jackrabbits. However, their populations have not dwindled in every state where these jackrabbits live. It varies by location. Of the five species, the white-tailed and black-tailed jackrabbits have faced the most significant declines.

There are several reasons why jackrabbit populations in general have decreased over the years. The rabbit drives that began during the Great Depression, where nearly 1,000 jackrabbits were killed during each drive, led to more than two million jackrabbits being killed in the Dust Bowl region of the US. While that decreased the populations of jackrabbits at that time, they ultimately rebounded. Today, however, different factors are causing jackrabbits to vanish completely from states where they once flourished. The reason that jackrabbits are no longer flourishing as they used to has to do with:

• Habitat loss
• Lower quality habitat to live in
• Being more exposed to predators thanks to habitat loss
• Invasive plants encroaching on and taking over areas where plants that jackrabbits ate once grew
• Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus
• Climate change

Because no jackrabbit species is currently considered endangered, jackrabbits often do not receive the same level of attention as other species experiencing population declines. However, if their habitats continue to be lost due to urban sprawl and climate change continues to increase temperatures, areas where jackrabbits are currently found will eventually become barren, with hares no longer able to survive in the regions they once called home.