The Sumallo River Valley, near Hope, BC is a great spot to view Snowshoe Hares. As we drove along the forest service road that follows the Sumallo River on the weekend, we saw several hares. This is a hard species to mistake: the big, big, snowshoe feet are a dead give away. Also, while this species turns white in winter, and is brownish in summer, it often retains noticeable white feet throughout the summer. (The exception to this in our area is the washingtonii subspecies [which may or may not be genetically distinct--DNA testing is presently underway] that is found in the lower Fraser Valley: it stays brown all year).
Overall, the hares we saw were not timid animals. One individual we watched along the road hopped back and forth in front of us for nearly half an hour, coming to within ten feet before turning and hopping away again. Several stopped in the road in front of us, posing even when we stepped out of the car, frequently moving in and out of the roadside vegetation. The Snowshoe Hare is found all across Canada, but we had seen very few until this weekend when we traveled this road.
On the Sumallo River forest service road, snowshoe hares were busy foraging along the edge.
Snowshoe Hares retain some white on them in the summer.
Look at those big feet!
The road: they should rename it Snowshoe Alley.
5 comments:
Those feet are amazing.
I could use such an explore at the moment ... we haven't been on one in AGES!
I've never seen one in the flesh. I would love to go spy some.
Great illustrative shots of the feet (size and colour) . He really is a handsome dude!
That's the cutest bunny ever! Love those big, white feet!
The feet are pretty spectacular, aren't they? What surprised us was how 'tame' these hares were. They would hop right past us.
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