Fluctuations in the Numbers of the Varying Hare (Lepus Americanus)

The varying hare, Lepus americanus Erxleben (1777), has become an almost classic example of an animal that undergoes periodic fluctuations in numbers. This phenomenon has in recent years attracted a great deal of attention, and appears to be of considerable biological importance. Since the case of the hare is such common knowledge, and since hares comprise one of the very large and important populations in the economy of nature, it was considered important to make an investigation of it.