The black-tailed jackrabbit is the most widespread jackrabbit. It lives on river bars, in meadows, barren areas, and sand dunes. The jackrabbit is a hare, which means its young are born with fur and with their eyes open. They are most active in the late afternoon, preferring to spend the day resting in a form, a shallow depression the size of its body that the animal scoops out of the dirt.
Jackrabbits eat grasses and leafy vegetation in the summer.
In winter, they feed on woody or dried vegetation. Sometimes these social animals will feed in groups. Jackrabbits have excellent hearing. Their ears can be 5 inches long. In addition to collecting sound, the large ears serve to disperse some of the animal's body heat on hot days.