The snowshoe hare is Wyoming’s rabbit of the deep conifer forest, and the state’s 273 records show it plainly. Yellowstone National Park holds 178 of them, with Park and Teton counties far ahead of the rest, and the remaining sightings scatter through high country like the Bridger, Cloud Peak, and Fitzpatrick wilderness areas.
Big feet and a winter coat
Oversized, fur-covered hind feet let the snowshoe hare run on top of snow that would sink any cottontail, and its coat turns from summer brown to winter white as the days shorten, a switch triggered by day length rather than temperature. That camouflage only works while the snow cooperates, which keeps the species tied to high country with a reliable snowpack.
Cycles and summer peaks
Across the boreal forest, snowshoe hare numbers famously rise and crash in roughly decade-long waves, with lynx following the same rhythm a step behind. Wyoming’s record builds to a June and July crest, when young hares born in early summer are out foraging and the forest floor is free of the snow that hides a white hare in winter.
Status in Wyoming
NatureServe ranks the snowshoe hare S5, Secure, in Wyoming, and the species is native to the state. USGS NAS does not list it as nonindigenous here.
Full species profile
