There are four species of jackrabbit in North America, three of which reside in New Mexico . The most common, and the one we see around here, is the blacktail jackrabbit. The black stripe down the top of the tail is descriptive. On the northern plains, and extending south to Rio Arriba and Taos counties in New Mexico, is the whitetail jackrabbit. In winter, their pelage will turn white, like a snowshoe hare's.
Whitetails average roughly six to ten lbs.
In extreme southern Hidalgo County is a rare hare - the whitesided jackrabbit. They look much like a blacktail jack, except for the flash of white fur on the sides and hips. While common further south in Mexico, the whitesided jack is scarce north of the border and is fully protected. The largest and most spectacular jack resides in south-central Arizona and further south in Sonora, Mexico. Like our Hidalgo County hare, the antelope jackrabbit has erectile hares that flash a white undercoat on the sides and hips when the critter is disturbed or in flight.