Snowshoe hare

Snowshoe hare
Summer coat, photographed in Olympic National Park, Washington
Winter coat, photographed near Shirleys Bay, Ontario
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Secure (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Lagomorpha
Family:	Leporidae
Genus:	Lepus
Species:	L. americanus
Binomial name
Lepus americanus Erxleben, 1777
Snowshoe hare range
Synonyms
List Lepus hudsonius Pallas, 1778 Lepus nanus von Schreber, 1789 Lepus wardii H. R. Schinz, 1825 Lepus virginianus Harlan, 1825 Lepus borealis H. R. Schinz, 1845 Lepus washingtonii S. F. Baird, 1855 Lepus bairdii Hayden, 1869 Lepus klamathensis C. H. Merriam, 1899 Lepus bishopi J. A. Allen, 1899 Lepus saliens Osgood, 1900 Lepus niediecki Matschie, 1907 Lepus bairdi E. W. Nelson, 1909 Lepus washingtoni E. W. Nelson, 1909

The snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus), also called the varying hare or snowshoe rabbit, is a species of hare found in North America. The "snowshoe" moniker refers to the hare's large hind feet, which prevent it from sinking into soft snow, much like snowshoes.

The hare has two seasonal coats which aid in camouflaging the animal. In summer, the hare is covered in short, brown fur; in winter this is exchanged for a longer coat of white fur. The name "varying hare" refers to this seasonal change in appearance.

A major predator of the snowshoe hare is the Canada lynx. Historical records of animals caught by fur hunters over decades show the lynx and hare numbers rising and falling in a cycle, which has made the hare known to biology students worldwide as a case study of the relationship between numbers of predators and their prey.