The tail has a black stripe that runs along the top onto the rump (hence the name) and is 2' to 4 1/2' long. Their total length is between 18 and 26 inches. The female doe is larger than the male buck. The black-tailed jackrabbit weighs between four and eight pounds. The desert cottontail ( Sylvilagus audubonii) is the common rabbit of Big Bend. Rabbits are altricial, or born hairless, blind, and helpless. Rabbits, on the other hand, move slower, dig burrows, and scamper into their homes when threatened. They can run and hop shortly after birth. Hares are also precocial, meaning they are born with hair and with their eyes open. Hares live in open areas and rely on running in a zigzag pattern to escape their predators. The jackrabbit is actually not a rabbit, but a hare.
The black-tailed jackrabbit ( Lepus californicus) is found throughout the western United States in the desert, open plains, and foothills.
