Lepus californicus
Silhouette: Jan A. Venter, Herbert H. T. Prins, David A. Balfour & Rob Slotow (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus), also known as the American desert hare, is a common hare of the western United States and Mexico, where it is found at elevations from sea level up to 10,000 ft (3,000 m). Reaching a length around 2 ft (61 cm), and a weight from 3 to 6 lb (1.4 to 2.7 kg), the black-tailed jackrabbit is one of the largest North American hares. Black-tailed jackrabbits occupy mixed shrub-grassland terrains. Their breeding depends on the location; it typically peaks in spring, but may continue all year round in warm climates. Young are born fully furred with eyes open; they are well camouflaged and are mobile within minutes of birth, thus females do not protect or even stay with the young except during nursing. The average litter size is around four, but may be as low as two and as high as seven in warm regions.
The black-tailed jackrabbit does not migrate or hibernate during winter and uses the same habitat of 0.4–1.2 mi2 (1.0–3.1 km2) year-round. Its diet is composed of various shrubs, small trees, grasses, and forbs. Shrubs generally comprise the bulk of fall and winter diets, while grasses and forbs are used in spring and early summer, but the pattern and plant species vary with climate. The black-tailed jackrabbit is an important prey species for raptors and carnivorous mammals, such as eagles, hawks, owls, coyotes, foxes, and wild cats. The hares host many ectoparasites including fleas, ticks, lice, and mites; for this reason, hunters often avoid collecting them. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joshua Tree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 3 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Death Valley National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Bahía de Loreto National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 6 | Cabo Pulmo National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 7 | Zion National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Padre Island National Seashore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Las Vegas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Phoenix | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black-tailed Jackrabbit sighting in Mesa on a given day, based on 26 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 7th most-seen of the 12 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Black-tailed Jackrabbit in Mesa on a given day, against under 5% in August, October and December–January, the lowest months. That is one of Mesa's driest months, with about 5 mm of rain against 35 mm in January.
Between 6 and 9 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-tailed Jackrabbit sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
4th of 6
Of the 6 cities where we can rate Black-tailed Jackrabbit sightings, Mesa ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Sacramento (United States, about 20%), San Francisco (United States, about 10%) and Las Vegas (United States, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-tailed Jackrabbit is recorded against all the mammals logged in Mesa (26 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
