How big does a Black-tailed jackrabbit get? Here is an overview over the average adult age:
A grown Black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus) reaches an average size of 48.4 cm (1′ 8″).
When born, they have an average size of 0 cm (0′ 0″). During their lifetime of about 6.75 years, they grow from 84 grams (0.19 lbs) to 2.42 kg (5.34 lbs). Talking about reproduction, Black-tailed jackrabbits have 2 babies about 4 times per year. The Black-tailed jackrabbit (genus: Lepus) is a member of the family Leporidae.
As a reference: Humans reach an average body size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) while carrying 62 kg (137 lbs). A human woman is pregnant for 280 days (40 weeks) and on average become 75 years old.
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 the 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 to 1.2 mi2 (1–3 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.
Animals of the same family as a Black-tailed jackrabbit
We found other animals of the Leporidae family:
- African savanna hare with a size of 45 cm (1′ 6″)
- European hare with a size of 52.6 cm (1′ 9″)
- Swamp rabbit with a size of 45.8 cm (1′ 7″)
- Granada hare with a size of 45.9 cm (1′ 7″)
- Japanese hare with a size of 49.9 cm (1′ 8″)
- Broom hare with a size of 50.2 cm (1′ 8″)
- Robust cottontail with a size of 39.4 cm (1′ 4″)
- Snowshoe hare with a size of 42.4 cm (1′ 5″)
- Black jackrabbit with a size of 23.9 cm (0′ 10″)
- Abyssinian hare bringing 2.02 kilos (4.45 lbs) to the scale
Animals with the same size as a Black-tailed jackrabbit
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Black-tailed jackrabbit:
- Ring-tailed lemur with a size of 42.5 cm (1′ 5″)
- Geoffroy’s cat with a size of 57.6 cm (1′ 11″)
- Sunda stink badger with a size of 44.2 cm (1′ 6″)
- Small-toothed palm civet with a size of 52.8 cm (1′ 9″)
- Raffles’ banded langur with a size of 51.4 cm (1′ 9″)
- Venezuelan red howler with a size of 56.1 cm (1′ 11″)
- Asian small-clawed otter with a size of 51.6 cm (1′ 9″)
- Agile gibbon with a size of 54.4 cm (1′ 10″)
- Aquatic genet with a size of 45.6 cm (1′ 6″)
- Haussa genet with a size of 42 cm (1′ 5″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Black-tailed jackrabbit
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (2) as a Black-tailed jackrabbit:
- Hinde’s rock rat
- Slender rat
- Coxing’s white-bellied rat
- Stephens’s kangaroo rat
- Jungle cat
- Schlieffen’s bat
- Van Deusen’s rat
- Banner-tailed kangaroo rat
- Cairo spiny mouse
- Bottego’s shrew
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Black-tailed jackrabbit
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Black-tailed jackrabbit:
- Black-shouldered opossum with an average maximal age of 7.83 years
- Bahamian hutia with an average maximal age of 6 years
- Eastern mole with an average maximal age of 6.17 years
- Dark kangaroo mouse with an average maximal age of 5.42 years
- Rufous elephant shrew with an average maximal age of 6 years
- Black dorcopsis with an average maximal age of 8 years
- Mountain degu with an average maximal age of 7.33 years
- Serotine bat with an average maximal age of 6 years
- Tailless tenrec with an average maximal age of 6.25 years
- Southeastern myotis with an average maximal age of 6 years
Animals with the same weight as a Black-tailed jackrabbit
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Lepus californicus:
- Cape genet with a weight of 2.07 kilos (4.56 lbs)
- Giant forest genet with a weight of 2.74 kilos (6.04 lbs)
- Dryas monkey with a weight of 2.78 kilos (6.13 lbs)
- Red lemur with a weight of 2.39 kilos (5.27 lbs)
- Rio Tapajós saki with a weight of 2.31 kilos (5.09 lbs)
- Abyssinian hare with a weight of 2.02 kilos (4.45 lbs)
- Woolly hare with a weight of 2.47 kilos (5.45 lbs)
- Black lemur with a weight of 2.48 kilos (5.47 lbs)
- Palawan stink badger with a weight of 2.5 kilos (5.51 lbs)
- Smith’s red rock hare with a weight of 2.25 kilos (4.96 lbs)