A jackrabbit is a hare found in the Western United States and Mexico. To be considered a hare, the young are born with fur and eyes open, while a rabbit is born blind. As the name states, this large jackrabbit has a tail with a black stripe above, extending onto the rump. Jackrabbits have very long ears and large hindfoot. The ears can be up to five inches long, they have excellent hearing. The hind feet are longer than the front feet, the hind feet can be up to  in5 3/4 inches long, and the heels do not leave marks when the animal is running. Jackrabbits rarely walk, they hop five to ten feet at a time. At high speeds, they can leap up to 20 feet or more, running up to 40 miles per hour over a short distance. They can be two feet in length and weigh 4-9 pounds, they are the third largest North American hare, an antelope jackrabbit and white-tailed jackrabbit are larger. Black-tailed jackrabbits are found in scrub grassland areas such as prairies, meadows, or cultivated fields, where vegetation is at least two feet tall. They are generally nocturnal. Their diet is composed of various shrubs, small trees, and grasses. The black-tailed jackrabbit does not migrate or hibernate during winter, they use the same 0.4 to 1.2 square miles of habitat year-round. Jackrabbits use shallow depressions in the ground covered with grass as shelters and hiding places from predators. Black-tailed jackrabbit are important to prey species, such as eagles, hawks, owls, coyotes, foxes, snakes or bobcats. These rabbits can host fleas, ticks, lice and mites.