<p>The aptly named snowshoe hare has particularly large feet and a winter-white coat. In the summer though, their fur turns brown, taking up to ten weeks to change color completely.</p>

The aptly named snowshoe hare has particularly large feet and a winter-white coat. In the summer though, their fur turns brown, taking up to ten weeks to change color completely.

Photograph by Bruce Dale, Nat Geo Image Collection

Snowshoe Hare

Snowshoe hares are forest-dwellers that prefer the thick cover of brushy undergrowth.

They are primarily a northern species that inhabits boreal forests and can also range as far north as the shores of the Arctic Ocean. Along North American mountain ranges, where elevation simulates the environment of more northerly latitudes, they can be found as far south as Virginia (the Appalachians) and New Mexico (the Rockies).

Hares are a bit larger than rabbits, and they typically have taller hind legs and longer ears. Snowshoe hares have especially large, furry feet that help them to move atop snow in the winter. They also have a snow-white winter coat that turns brown when the snow melts each spring. It takes about ten weeks

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