Poor snowshoe hares still think they’re camouflaged even when they’re really not

[xchrom]

http://grist.org/list/poor-snowshoe-hares-still-think-theyre-camouflaged-even-when-theyre-really-not/

?w=470&h=352
Shoot! What color am I supposed to be, again?

Poor snowshoe hares. Every other creature in the forest wants to eat them. As NPR reports, “lynx, foxes, coyotes, raptors, birds of prey” — even red squirrels, which eat the babies — are after the hares.

The hares have basically one strategy for not getting eaten: They blend in with their surroundings. When the days get longer in the spring, they turn brown. When the days get shorter in the fall, they turn white to match the snow. It doesn’t matter if there’s actually snow on the ground or not — the hares turn white. As you’d guess, this is kiiiind of a problem. Alex Kumar, a biology grad student who studies the hares, told NPR:

“And they really think that they’re camouflaged,” Kumar says. “They act like we can’t see them. And it’s pretty embarrassing for the hare.”

Kumar calls this “mismatch,” and it’s becoming more of a concern with climate change.

[dipsydoodle]

1. The post duplicated

I've had issues with connecting to DU this morning - have you too ?

[xchrom]

2. i broke it. nt

[adirondacker]

3. There is a marked decrease in population in my region. The coyote and hawk population

has increased, along with cottontail rabbits. Interesting article.

[hootinholler]

4. How the fuck does Kumar know they are embarrassed?

Don't anthropomorphize wildlife. They hate it when you do that!