News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 24, 2000

ODNR DIVISION OF WILDLIFE REINTRODUCING SNOWSHOE HARES TO OHIO

COLUMBUS, OH -- After nearly a century since Ohio fields last supported them, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife is reintroducing snowshoe hares to the state as part of its wildlife diversity management program.

The reintroducing of this unique species begins January 25 with the release of more than two dozen hares at the Euclid Rifle and Hunt Club in northeast Geauga County.

Collected from the Seney (SEE-knee) National Wildlife Refuge in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, these will be the first of up to 100 snowshoe hares to be introduced to northeastern Ohio this year. They have been outfitted with toe tags and some will wear radio collars, allowing wildlife biologists to track their behavior and survival rates.

"Northeastern Ohio makes a great reintroduction site for the snowshoe hare," says Division of Wildlife biologist Dave Scott, manager of the project. “The climate in this part of the state will allow them to take full advantage of their ability to cruise over deep snow at speeds up to 27 miles per hour."

While they can be referred to as bunnies, hares are definitely different from the cottontail rabbit with which most Ohioans are familiar. Hares are larger, and the snowshoe variety is also known as a varying hare because its brown fur turns white in the winter so it can blend into its snowy surroundings. Due to their need for a specific habitat, the hares are only being released in the northeast corner of Ohio. The snowshoe hare gets its name from its long hind feet, which enable its remarkable speed on snow.

Like similar projects involving river otters, trumpeter swans, ospreys, and peregrine falcons, the reintroduction of the snowshoe hare is funded through contributions to the Ohio wildlife diversity income tax checkoff program and through sales of wildlife conservation license plates.

For Further Information Contact:
Bill Beagle, Division of Wildlife
(330) 644-2293