snowshoe hare

noun

Updated on: 13 Apr 2018

Definition of snowshoe hare

: a hare (Lepus americanus) of northern North America with heavy fur on the hind feet and a coat that in most populations is brown in the summer but usually white in the winter — called also snowshoe rabbit, varying hare

See snowshoe hare defined for kids

Recent Examples of snowshoe hare from the Web

There is some good news for the snowshoe hare, however.

— New York Times, "5 Plants and Animals Utterly Confused by Climate Change," 4 Apr. 2018
We’ve only visited in winter, when the tracks of snowshoe hares and the hoof prints of moose pepper the forest.

— brian irwin, BostonGlobe.com, "Yurts combine wilderness experience, comfort," 21 Mar. 2018
Fresh food in March, if people were lucky, was fish from traps set in ice and grouse and snowshoe hares snared with loops of sinew.

— ned rozell, Anchorage Daily News, "A scientist’s view of Alaska, 150 years ago," 11 Mar. 2018
The species is classified as a species of least concern by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, but in the U.S. is considered threatened because of climate and habitat threats to snowshoe hares, their primary prey.

— sarah gibbens, National Geographic, "These Wild Cats Make the Weirdest Sound," 6 Sep. 2017
However, thanks to extensive wildlife habitat management in recent years, Michigan’s snowshoe hares have been given a leg up in their fight for survival.

— michigan wildlife council, Detroit Free Press, "Hare today, hare tomorrow," 20 Dec. 2017
Climate change has not been kind to Michigan’s snowshoe hare.

— michigan wildlife council, Detroit Free Press, "Hare today, hare tomorrow," 20 Dec. 2017
Ken Marsh, spokesman for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said some snowshoe hare populations appear to be growing in portions of Southcentral Alaska.

— alex demarban, Alaska Dispatch News, "Photos of a mother lynx with 7 kittens on an Anchorage porch go global," 3 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'snowshoe hare.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.