Habitats are equally diverse. Some species live below the earth, some on the surface of the ground, at least two species are aquatic, and a few are arboreal. Regardless of where they live, the great majority are home builders. They strive to locate their homes in the most protected places and usually line their nests with soft materials. Outstanding exceptions are the jackrabbit and the porcupine, both of which lead nomadic lives. In spite of their secretive habits, rodents suffer a tremendous mortality. Practically all carnivorous animals, most predatory birds, and many snakes prey on rodents, and for many of them these persecuted animals form the chief food. This situation is not as harsh as it might seem, for most rodents are prolific to a high degree. Elliott Coues summed up their place in Nature’s balance very aptly: “Yet they have one obvious part to play,... that of turning grass into flesh, in order that carnivorous Goths and Vandals may subsist also, and in their turn proclaim, ‘All flesh is grass.’” Snowshoe hare _Lepus americanus_ (Latin: hare ... of America) Range: Found throughout the greater part of Canada and Alaska with extensive penetrations into the Southwest in Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and western Nevada. Its occurrence in northern California is rather rare, and is confined to only a few higher mountain ranges. [Illustration: Habitat map] Habitat: In the vicinity of streams or in conifer forests in the Canadian and Hudsonian Life Zones. Description: A small, chunky hare with medium long ears and large hairy hind feet. An average individual will have a total length of about 18 inches with a tail less than 2 inches. Hind foot about 6 inches in length. Summer pelage brown, except feet and belly white, and tail brownish black above. Winter coat white except for the tips of the ears which are black. Young, three to six, born in May or June. The snowshoe hare, found sparingly in mountains of the Southwest, is the same as that which lives in the muskeg not far from the Arctic Circle. The climate of the mountain zones is surprisingly like that of the north country even though the terrain is different. The closest equivalent is to be found in the brushy borders of mountain streams, and here the “snowshoes” are most often found. During summer they feed on grasses, herbs, and leaves of many different shrubs and the tender tips of young branches. Winter, a period of famine for many animals, is just the opposite for these large-footed hares. Able to run about on the surface of snowdrifts, each new snowfall lifts them closer to the tender twigs that earlier in the year were far above their reach. Clean diagonal cuts much like those made with a knife mark their depredations and, since they are hearty eaters, the whole tops of many favorite food shrubs may be pruned out in one season.