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Terrified Snowshoe Hare

From a road on a hill top in lynx country, I saw an animal moving at the bottom of the hill on the muddy road 300 meters away. I was unsure what it was initially as it began to run up the steep incline in the road towards me, zig zagging as it ran. It soon became evident that it was a terrified Snowshoe Hare, running at full speed to evade a predator, which did not follow it onto the road. It continued to zig zag towards me at full speed, covering the entire 300 meters quickly and continued to run, seemingly all out, as it passed within a couple of feet of me, so scared that it ignored my presence.

 

I had a similar experience a few years ago when two coyotes were chasing — and very close to catching — a White-tailed Jackrabbit. The coyotes stopped when they saw me, but the terrified Jackrabbit continued to run at full speed towards me, passing within two feet.

 

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Uploaded on October 23, 2018
Taken on October 20, 2018