Form may be lined with dry leaves, grass or fur. No data found. Young or stunted conifers, or shrubs, are required for day-time cover. Winters are spent in areas with sagebrush, or in thickets of young trees. Activity primarily is nocturnal, sometimes crepuscular.
Males are highly aggressive during breeding season.
Young forage for themselves soon after birth and are independent at 3-4 wk, or sooner. Likely prey for coyotes, bobcats, and larger raptors. The black-tailed hare is a more opportunistic feeder and has been displacing L. townsendii, particularly in areas altered by humans. There is little current information regarding population status in California, but evidence polnts to a serious decline. May now be absent from large portions of its previous range, as in Lasser Co. where the last records are 20 yr old.