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Arctic hare in summer
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Arctic hare in summer

by Oscar Benavides

Gallery: WildlifePosted January 15, 2011140 views6 comments
This arctic hare gnawing a beluga bone, was taken in the tundra by the seashore of Hudson Bay in Nunavut, Canada in summer 2009.
I didn't know hare gnaw bones and eat seaweeds, this behavior surprised me, probably it is the way they have to recover calcium.

Canon 1D Mk3
300mm f2.8
f 4.5
1/640
ISO 400

Feedback and comments always welcomed and greatly appreciated. Thanks for looking.


Comments

6 comments
Comment posted by Gary Gulash on January 15, 2011 at 7:57 PM
Nice capture of some interesting, and I suspect, seldom seen behavior. I understand that calcium is indeed a scarce commodity and doesn't go to waste in the natural world. Good low perspective you chose. Well done.
Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments
Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on January 15, 2011 at 8:25 PM
Cool behavior shot Oscar! I have never seen this either. Maybe he is also sharpening his teeth? Or maybe he is one of those man eating attack rabbits from Monty Python in Search of the Holy Grail? Sorry...couldn't help myself :biggrin:
On the serious side, I like the low perspective on this shot as well.
Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments
Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on January 16, 2011 at 12:23 AM
A very interesting image indeed Oscar and well executed. The low angle helps this a lot and the colors of the seaweed are nicely contrasting and make the image more attractive. IMO this would have been an even stronger image of the behaviour you describe, if we could actually see the hare gnaw. In this pose it is like it is sniffing the bone. I think Kurt might be right that apart from recovering calcium this way it can serve as sharpening of the incisors, which continually grow in hares.
Registered on February 24, 2006, 504 Posts, 7203 Comments
Comment posted by John Tobias on January 16, 2011 at 9:26 AM
Interesting image. Good capture of the hare, nice detail and exposure. I like how you were able to get some of the bones sharp. Many animals will chew on bones and antlers to get the minerals in them. Thanks for sharing, very nice.
Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments
Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on January 16, 2011 at 3:45 PM
Very nice, Oscar. Little goes to waste in the far north. It's very common to find shed caribou antlers gnawed by hares. But I've never seen the behavior captured before; well done.

I'm a bit curious about the identification. If I saw this hare around here, I'd call it a Snowshoe Hare (Lepus americanus). The hare seems to small and the ears too short for Arctic; the coat is also a bit too grey. But I could be wrong...
Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments
Comment posted by kiran khanzode on January 16, 2011 at 9:46 PM
Interesting behavior captured. :toast:
Registered on February 21, 2009, 83 Posts, 428 Comments