CreatureData

White-tailed jackrabbit

Lepus townsendii Bachman, 1839

LCLeast Concernmammals

The white-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus townsendii) is a species in the family Leporidae, order Lagomorpha. Recorded adults weigh 1.56 kg to 2.62 kg and live up to 8 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

White-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus townsendii)
Photo: Adam Lowe · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the white-tailed jackrabbit

Weight
1.56 kg – 2.62 kgsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
8 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Herbivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Gestation
35 days – 49 dayssrc for Gestation
Young per litter or clutch
4.41src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
10.1 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
3.03src for Litters or clutches a year
Active
At night (nocturnal)src for Active
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the white-tailed jackrabbit live?

Not recorded

What is the white-tailed jackrabbit?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The white-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus townsendii), also known as the prairie hare and the white jack, is a species of hare found in western North America. Like all hares and rabbits, it is a member of the family Leporidae of order Lagomorpha. It is a solitary individual except where several males court a female in the breeding season. Litters of four to five young are born in a form, a shallow depression in the ground, hidden among vegetation. This jackrabbit has two described subspecies: L. townsendii townsendii occurring west of the Rocky Mountains and L. townsendii campanius occurring east of the Rocky Mountains.

From the Wikipedia article “White-tailed jackrabbit” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=White-tailed_jackrabbit&oldid=1376654893), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the white-tailed jackrabbit endangered?

The white-tailed jackrabbit is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the white-tailed jackrabbit classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderLagomorpha
  5. familyLeporidae
  6. genusLepus
  7. SpeciesLepus townsendii Bachman, 1839
Other names and names in other languages (28)
  • Prairie hareEnglish
  • Townsend's rocky mountain hareEnglish
  • White jackEnglish
  • White-tailed hareEnglish
  • White-tailed jack rabbitEnglish
  • Ош пачан моренMari
  • zajíc prériovýCzech
  • PräriehaseGerman
  • Λευκόουρος ΛαγόςGreek
  • Liebre de cola blancaSpanish
  • valkohäntäjänisFinnish
  • lièvre de TownsendFrench
  • ארנבת הערבהHebrew
  • prérinyúlHungarian
  • Սպիտակապոչ նապաստակArmenian
  • オジロジャックウサギJapanese
  • 흰꼬리산토끼Korean
  • 흰꼬리잭토끼Korean
  • Hvithalet eselhareNorwegian Bokmål
  • WitstaartlepelhaasDutch
  • misaaboozOjibwa
  • zając białoogonowyPolish
  • Lebre-de-cauda-brancaPortuguese
  • Iepure de prerieRomanian
  • Iepure al preriilorRomanian
  • Белохвостый заяцRussian
  • belorepi dolgouhi zajecSlovenian
  • vitsvansad åsnehareSwedish

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the white-tailed jackrabbit

Other species in the same genus Lepus.

LC, Least Concern
Cape hare (Lepus capensis)

Cape hare

Lepus capensis

Leporidae

CompareWhite-tailed jackrabbit vs European hareWhite-tailed jackrabbit vs Mountain hareWhite-tailed jackrabbit vs Arctic hareWhite-tailed jackrabbit vs Snowshoe hare

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the white-tailed jackrabbit?

An adult white-tailed jackrabbit weighs 1.56 kg – 2.62 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the white-tailed jackrabbit endangered?

The white-tailed jackrabbit is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the white-tailed jackrabbit live?

The white-tailed jackrabbit has a recorded lifespan of 8 years.

How long is the white-tailed jackrabbit pregnant?

The recorded gestation period is 35 days – 49 days.

What kind of animal is the white-tailed jackrabbit?

The white-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus townsendii) belongs to the family Leporidae in the order Lagomorpha.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). White-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus townsendii). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-tailed-jackrabbit

MLA

“White-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus townsendii).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-tailed-jackrabbit.

BibTeX
@misc{white_tailed_jackrabbit_2026,
  title = {White-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus townsendii)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-tailed-jackrabbit},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}