The Arctic Hare
The arctic hare lives on the tundra in the arctic.It has a pure white coat that camouflages it against the snow and thick long hair to keep it warm.
The hare has very acute hearing but has small ears, to help conserve heat. It's large feet and toes help the hare to travel on the snow easily.
In the summer the hare eats small plants. In the winter they eat twigs, and even meat if necessary.
Female hares can have up to seven babies.These youngsters are called Leverets.Leverets can run within a few minutes of birth, this is a necessitiy in the arctic because of all the dangers. For instance there's the arctic fox which is the biggest threat to the hare just like foxes are a threat to rabbits and hares in Britain.
The arctic hare is also known as the snowshoe hare because of the way it is able to run on extremely thick layers of snow.
The hare is a vital source of food for other animals such as the arctic fox, the polar bear, wolves and birds of prey.