Fun Black Jackrabbit Facts For Kids

Are you an animal lover? We have facts on one of the adorable little hares for you, the black jackrabbit.

The black jackrabbit is quite rare and is endemic to Mexico. As a result, only 923 individuals are currently in today's world.

These are one of the two different species of jackrabbits that are found in Central America. The mothers give birth to litters of around three to four kittens.

In some cases, the litter size can also reach five kittens. The young are born with fur and with their eyes open which is unlike the case in many rabbits. The young are born after a gestation period of 41-43 days.

The mothers tend to leave the kits on their own after a few days of their birth. These are herbivorous animals and their diet consists of plants and grasses.

 If you find our content interesting and informative do not forget to check out our other special articles like Auroch and maned sloth facts.

Black Jackrabbit Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a black jackrabbit?

The black jackrabbit is a species of hare that belongs to the family of Leporidae.

What class of animal does a black jackrabbit belong to?

Similar to all other species of and subspecies of hare and rabbits, the black jackrabbit belongs to the Mammalia class of the Animalia kingdom.

How many black jackrabbits are there in the world?

It is estimated that there are about 923 individuals that are present in today's world. Though the population trend has been relatively stable over the recent years, these are listed as Vulnerable species. This is mainly due to human activities like the destruction of habitat, climate change, and hunting.

Where does a black jackrabbit live?

The population range of the black jackrabbits is mainly concentrated in Mexico. The major population range of the black jackrabbit is concentrated in Espiritu Santo Island along the Gulf of California.

What is a black jackrabbit's habitat?

Desert scrublands and the prairies are the chief habitat range of the black jackrabbits. Apart from these preferred choices of habitat, these animals can also be found in arid desert sand dunes and xeric scrubland where vegetation can also be found on rocky soil.

These hares prefer to stay in agricultural lands where there is an abundance of crops and grains and grasses.

Who do black jackrabbits live with?

These animals prefer to lead a solitary life, often they have been seen in pairs of two individuals.

How long does a black jackrabbit live?

The exact lifespan of the black jackrabbit is currently unknown. However, hares belonging to the same family are said to have an optimum lifespan of one to five years.

How do they reproduce?

The breeding season occurs when the temperature is cooler and thus it usually occurs during the months of January and extends till August. In general, three to four litters of kittens are born while a gestation period of around 41-43 days is observed.

Unlike other rabbits, the young are born with fur and eyes open. The period of weaning occurs for a few days and after that, the adult mother is seen to abandon the kids so that the latter grow on their own.

What is their conservation status?

The black jackrabbit is listed as Vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature or the IUCN Red List. However, the current population trend of these animals has remained stable.

Human activities like habitat destruction, climate change, and predation by larger carnivorous animals have led to the decline of this species. Thus, proper conservative and protective methods and steps should be implemented at the earliest.

Black Jackrabbit Fun Facts

What does a black jackrabbit look like?

This hare is black in color with patches of white and gray near the eyes and nose. The tails are dark cinnamon in color which differs from individual to individual. The toes in the hind feet are slightly above the heels in the legs. Like other hare species, they are born with heavily padded feet.

How cute are they?

Rabbits and hares are small mammals that humans generally find to be adorable.

How do they communicate?

Black jackrabbits are solitary animals in general and very little interaction is noticed with other animals or animals of the same species. These are mainly nocturnal animals. Interaction with individuals of the same species is often observed during the mating period, where males often compete and fight with one another to win and capture the attention of the female.

How big is a black jackrabbit?

These hare measure 22.6 in (54.7 cm) in length. In comparison with the mountain hare at 17.7-25.5 in (45-65 cm), they are almost similar in length.

How fast can a black jackrabbit run?

The exact speed at which the black jackrabbit runs is currently unknown. However, we can compare it with that of the jackrabbit. These are pretty fast animals and can easily speed around 40 mph (64 kph). So we can assume that the speed of the black jackrabbit is likely to be similar.

How much does a black jackrabbit weigh?

The weight of black jackrabbits is usually around 3-6 lb (1.4-2.7 kg). In comparison with the brown hare at 5.12-8.37 lb (2.5-3.8 kg), the weights are almost similar.

What are their male and female names of the species?

There are distinct names for males and females of this hare species. The males are known as bucks while the females are known as a doe.

What would you call a baby black jackrabbit?

The baby of a black jackrabbit is known as a kitten, or more accurately it is known as a black jackrabbit kitten.

What do they eat?

These are herbivorous animals. The ideal diet of these black jackrabbits consists of food like grasses and shrubs.

In the absence of proper vegetation, these hares have been found to consume the bark of trees which becomes a prime part of their diet apart from plants. The island of Espiritu Santo where these hares are found is almost devoid of water, therefore the only consumption of water for these hares comes from the food that they ingest.

Are they poisonous?

There is no evidence that suggests that the black jackrabbits are poisonous animals.

Would they make a good pet?

It would be a bad choice to keep these little animals as pets. First of all, these are endemic animals are only found in the Espiritu Santo Island of Mexico. Moreover, these have been listed as Vulnerable species with a mere population of 923 individuals, thus owning one of these little hairy litters can be illegal.

Did you know...

The Espiritu Santo Island is an uninhabited island, so no human population is found on that island.

Different types of jackrabbit

There are six different kinds of jackrabbits that are found on our planet. All six of these hares are inhabitants of America. Four of them are found in North America while the remaining two are found in Central America. One of them is the black-tailed jackrabbit.

Is the black jackrabbit endangered?

The IUCN Red List has listed the black jackrabbit as a Vulnerable species with a mere population of 923 individuals. Human activities like climate change as well predation by other animals is essential in the decline of these little mammals.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these white-tailed jackrabbit facts and European rabbit facts for kids pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable rabbit coloring pages.

*We've been unable to source an image of a black jackrabbit and have used an image of a black-tailed jackrabbit instead. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of a black jackrabbit, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at hello@kidadl.com.