1. Snow hares (National Category III protected animals): (1) Distribution of snow hares: my country’s snow hares are also called white rabbits. It is mainly distributed in the northern part of the Daxingan Mountains and the forest areas of the Sanjiang Plain in Heilongjiang Province, and is also found in the southern part of the Daxingan Mountains. Due to its limited distribution area, it has been listed as a national Category III protected animal and can only be hunted during the prescribed annual hunting period. (2) The shape of the snowshoe rabbit: The snowshoe rabbit begins to turn white in October and completes the moulting process at the end of November or early December. At this time, the whole body of the winter coat is white, with only two black ear tips. In summer, the snowshoe hare's head and back are brown, and its belly is white. The body length is about 50 cm and the weight is 2.5-4 kg, which is larger than the grass rabbit in North China. (3) Living habits: Snowshoe rabbits are typical forest-dwelling animals. They usually live in shrubs, woods along rivers, lakes and swamps, and mixed forests where spruce dominates. In winter, it is common to see snowshoe hares running in sparse forests, forest edges and shrubs. The burned areas and logging areas covered with broad-leaved young forests are also the places where snowshoe hares live. They feed on herbaceous plants in summer and gnaw the bark and twigs of saplings in winter. If they reproduce in large numbers, they often cause harm to trees in local areas. Snowshoe hares give birth two or three times a year, with a gestation period of about 50 days, and each litter ranges from 3 to 5, sometimes as many as 10. They are born with eyes open and covered with dense hair, and live independently in about 10 days. Life span is 8-10 years. (4) Economic value: The winter skin of snowshoe rabbit is soft, the hair is long and thick, and the fur is better than other hare skins. 2. Grass rabbit: Grass rabbit is also called mountain rabbit, hare and mountain jump. They are named because their coat color is similar to the color of grass. There are many types, including Northeastern rabbit, Mongolian rabbit, South China rabbit, etc. They have similar shapes and the same habits, so they will be described together. (1) Distribution of grass rabbits: Grass rabbits have strong reproductive capacity and can adapt to different living environments, so they are widely distributed. They are found in almost all provinces across the country, but they are less common in densely populated areas and more in desolate areas. . Among them, Northeastern rabbits are distributed in Northeast China, Mongolian rabbits are distributed in Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Shanxi, Gansu and other provinces and regions, and South China rabbits are distributed in Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi, Taiwan and other places. (2) Morphology of grass rabbits: The fur color of grass rabbits is brown, and there are also reddish brown and dark brown; the abdominal hair is white or dirty white. The summer coat is light, short and velvety. The difference in coat color is related to the environment in which they live, indicating that they can highly adapt to the environment and hide themselves. The grass rabbit has short forelimbs and long and powerful hind legs. It is good at running and can reach about 10 meters per second. It has good vision and a wide field of vision; its ears are long and can twist sideways to capture sounds, so its hearing is very sensitive. However, the South China rabbit has smaller ears and is also known as the small-eared rabbit. The adult weighs about 2.5 kilograms and is about 40 centimeters in length. (3) Living habits: Grass rabbits in Inner Mongolia, Northeast China, North China, South China and other regions like to live in mixed forests with water sources, barren hillsides near farmland, bushes, grassland areas, sandy desert areas, etc. In the northern part of Hebei Province, it especially likes to inhabit the thorny acacia saplings, the banks of rivers covered with poplar and willow saplings, and the foothills near farmland. Areas that meet the following three conditions will have a large number of hares, otherwise they will be small. These three conditions are: ① There is a hiding environment, such as shrubs, thorny acacia saplings, deserted beaches with small trees, etc. ② It can keep a lookout for enemies without affecting the area of ??escape. There are very few hares in dense high grass areas and steep slopes of mountains. The tall grass hinders their observation and escape, and the steep slopes are not conducive to their activities. Shrubs with a relatively gentle slope have the living conditions of low grass. It is conducive to hiding and escaping when an enemy is encountered, but it is not conducive to enemy pursuit, so there are many hares in the young acacia forest. ③It must be an area with food and nearby water sources. Although it is easy to find food for hares, there are often many hares on the barren slopes near bean fields and radish and cabbage fields. Water also has a great impact on hares, especially in the dry seasons of spring and late autumn; lactating female rabbits also need to drink a lot of water every day. There are very few hares in water-scarce areas, so there is no point in hunting. Grass rabbits only have a relatively fixed habitat. In addition to having a fixed nest during the breeding period, they usually lead a wandering life, but they wander within a certain range and do not easily leave the area where they live. In spring and summer, they live in dense young forests and shrubs. In autumn and winter, when the grass withers away, the hare's hiding place is often a clump of grass, a patch of soil, or other places deemed suitable. The hare uses its front paws to hide. Dig a shallow hole to hide. This kind of small hole is about 30 centimeters long and 20 centimeters wide. It is shallow at the front and becomes deeper towards the back. The rear end is about 10 centimeters deep and shaped like a dustpan. Hunters in Hebei Province call this kind of small hole where rabbits hide "" "埯子".
The grass rabbit is hiding among them, hiding only the lower half of its body. Its back is slightly higher than the ground or the same level, making it invisible due to its protective color. When frightened, they run away or leave in search of food, then dig again when hiding. They also use the old "埯" to hide when they are barking. Grass rabbits are alert by nature, have good hearing and vision, can escape quickly, are well concealed, and have strong fecundity. Although there are many enemies, the rabbit family is still very prosperous. Grass rabbits live day and night and like to walk on fixed trails that have been traveled many times. Beginning at dusk, they are active throughout the night, sometimes hiding before dawn. During the estrus chasing period in spring, when the sky is dark or drizzling during the day, and the roads are deserted and there are few people, they also come out for activities. Usually during the day, only when it is disturbed, it will suddenly escape from its ambush, and immediately dig a "pit" to ambush in a place it thinks is safe and hidden. The feeding habits of grass rabbits are complex and depend on the habitat environment. They generally like to eat young grasses, wild vegetables and the leaves of certain trees and shrubs; in winter they eat grass roots, branches and bark of saplings, and also eat lichens. When there are large numbers, they often cause disasters to forestry. Grass rabbits living near farmland steal sweet potatoes, vegetables, and fruit trees, especially radishes. They eat the bean sprouts newly unearthed in the spring, causing serious harm. (4) Economic value: Rabbit meat is edible; the fur is available, but the skin is brittle and of low value. Our country has a large annual output and is a meat animal with great hunting value. If there are too many hares in a certain area, causing serious local damage to agriculture and forestry, they will be treated as pests and eliminated.