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Take a close look at the photo of the rabbit sent in by Martin Husovich taken near the Francis E. Walter Dam. Sure, it’s brown just like a cottontail, but the elongated nose, tall ears and overall large body are signs that this rabbit is actually a snowshoe hare.

The snowshoe is really not a true rabbit due to differences in its digestive tract and the fact that newborn hares are born well developed as opposed to hairless and blind like the young of a cottontail.

While snowshoes are sporting a brown coat now, they will molt later this fall and turn entirely white by winter, aside from the ear tips which remain black. The molt is dictated not by temperature, but daylight. Shorter days trigger the receptor cells in a hare’s eyes that in turn signal the pituitary gland to stop producing pigment in the new fur. In the spring, longer days reverse the process.

Capture anything interesting on your hand-held or trail camera? A nice buck, bear, coyote or any other wildlife? We’d love to see it. Each week, we’ll run photos from a reader’s trail camera on the Sunday Outdoors page. Email your photo, along with date and area it was taken (township is fine), and any other details to [email protected].

For other outdoors stories, click here.

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By Tom Venesky

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