It has white flanks, a feature so striking that it gives the animal its name and becomes particularly visible when running, showing flashes of pale fur with every stride as though carrying a built-in alarm signal. It lives in open highland grasslands of central Mexico and the southern United States, a habitat increasingly converted into arable land or overgrazed by livestock, which has drastically reduced its available area. Unlike other hares that camouflage themselves among vegetation, the White-sided Jackrabbit relies on speed and on forming small groups that alert each other to the presence of predators. Its population at the northern extreme of its range, in New Mexico, has become so reduced that it is now the subject of specific conservation programmes independent of those protecting the main body of the species in Mexico.
Medium-large hare with very long, dark-tipped ears, strikingly white flanks and underparts that contrast with the greyish-brown back, and long, powerful hind legs. It is distinguished from other hares in the region by the extensive white on its flanks, visible mainly when running, and by forming small groups rather than being strictly solitary like most of its relatives.
Hind track with 4 toes, much longer than the front track, 10-12 cm long, showing the characteristic hare bounding pattern with two hind tracks aligned ahead of the two front tracks. Droppings rounded and fibrous, 1-1.3 cm, left in small scattered groups across the grassland. Leaves small depressions in the ground (forms) beneath tussocks of tall grass where it rests during the day, as well as well-marked runs through dense grassland from repeated use of the same routes.
Open highland grassland, from lowlands to mid-mountain zones. Fragmentedly distributed through central Mexico and a small area in the extreme south-west of the United States, in New Mexico.
Herbivorous, feeding on grasses, herbs and tender shoots, with its diet varying according to seasonal grassland availability.
Unlike most hares, which are more solitary, the White-sided Jackrabbit tends to form small groups that alert each other to predators by flashing their white fur as they run. Activity is mainly nocturnal and crepuscular, and it does not migrate, maintaining a relatively stable home range within the grassland.
Populations have suffered a marked decline, particularly severe at the northern edge of its distribution in New Mexico, where it persists thanks to specific conservation programmes, while in central Mexico it survives in a more fragmented state.
Conversion of native grassland to arable land, overgrazing by livestock that degrades the vegetation structure on which it depends, and unregulated hunting in parts of its range.
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