Black-tailed jackrabbit
Scientific name: Lepus californicus Gray, 1837
Overview
The black-tailed jackrabbit, 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, the black-tailed jackrabbit is 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.
From the Wikipedia article “Black-tailed jackrabbit”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Conservation status
Least concern on the IUCN Red List, as recorded on Wikidata, citing The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022.2.
Where it lives
The Catalogue of Life records it in: Middle America; North America.
Common names
Also known in English as Black-tailed Jack Rabbit, California Jackrabbit, Gray-sided Jackrabbit, Great Plains Jackrabbit, Jackass-hare, Narrow-gauge Mule, Texan Hare, Texas Jack.
Names in other languages (9)
- Arabic
- أرنبوس أسود الذيل, الأرنبوس أسود الذيل, القوَّاع الأمريكي الصحراوي
- Chinese
- 黑尾长耳大野兔
- French
- Lièvre de Californie
- German
- Eselhase, Kalifornischer Eselhase
- Japanese
- オグロジャックウサギ
- Persian
- خرگوش کالیفرنیایی
- Portuguese
- Lebre-da-califórnia
- Russian
- чернохвостый заяц
- Spanish
- Liebre cola negra, Liebre De Cola Negra
Related animals
Sources
-
Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names and range.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: The Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikidata — conservation status, names in other languages. Q640645, CC0 1.0.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Black-tailed jackrabbit”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo — Thomas Schoch, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
- Range map — Chermundy, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026