Snowball

Arctic Hare Facts

Hi, I’m Snowball, an Arctic hare. Not very many people or animals want to live in the frozen tundra of the Arctic. It’s cold here, sometimes dropping to -40 degrees Fahrenheit. Brrr! Now that’s cold! But God has given me all the features I need to survive.

I have large back feet that work just like snowshoes to keep me from sinking into the snow. My dark eyelashes are like sunglasses, blocking the bright sunshine that bounces off the snow. I have short ears, which help me conserve heat. My thick, warm fur is white in the winter and a gray color in the summer to help provide camouflage. My fluffy tail is always white, and my ears are tipped with black.

Here are some cool facts about Arctic hares like me.

• I have a great sense of smell and can dig through the snow to find willow twigs and roots to eat.
• Hundreds of us sometimes gather in groups and huddle to keep warm under the snow.
• I can run 40 miles per hour and jump almost 7 feet in the air.

In some ways I look like a rabbit you might see in the woods or have for a pet, but in other ways I look different. This is because God designed the rabbit kind, which includes Arctic hares like me, with all the information needed for us to adapt to the challenging Arctic environment, while other bunnies have adapted to the desert, the forest, or fields. What a wise Designer!

Class: Mammalia
Order: Lagomorpha
Family: Leporidae
Genus/Species: Lepus arcticus
Size: 19–26 inches long
Weight: 6–15 lbs
Diet: Woody plants, moss, lichens, buds, berries, leaves, roots, and bark
Habitat: Tundra

Verse

“Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).

Apologetics Focus

Arctic hares have a positive impact on the tundra. As part of my diet, I sometimes eat seeds. As the seeds pass through my digestive tract, I help spread and fertilize these seeds. This helps certain plants to survive and colonize new areas in the tundra. You know what else has a positive impact? The Bible! The teachings in God’s Word have positively impacted cultures all around the world. Here are a couple examples:

• Teachings from the Bible helped get rid of slavery here in the United States.
• Our calendar is based on the week, which comes from Genesis 1; and the day, month, and year are based on the sun and moon, which were created by God to help us tell time.
• Famous scientists, like Sir Isaac Newton, were Christians who loved the Bible and wanted to find out more about God’s creation.

Learn More

• Arctic Hare
• The Polar Bear