THE DISTRIBUTION OF WISCONSIN HARES 
ALDO LEOPOLD' 
Both of the hares of Wisconsin have changed their original range 
boundaries. The jackrabbit is spreading rapidly eastward; the snowshoe 
hare has been, at least until recently, shrinking slowly northward. This

paper aims to record their distribution as of 1944, and to discuss briefly

the probable reasons for boundary changes. 
The present ranges are mapped in Figures 1 and 2. About half of the 
maps 
"stations" on these/were accumulated since 1928 by questioning
students, 
farmers, game wardens, sportsmen and technical field men. The other half

were obtained by questionnaires and correspondence in 1944. 
Jackrabbit (Lepus townsendii campanius. Hollister) 
Former status Cory, in his "Mammals of Illinois and Wisconsin"
(1912), 
lists the jackrabbit as "not yet recorded from Wisconsin (although it)
has 
been taken in the eastern border of Iowa..... and in extreme southeastern

MinnesotP, (4:265) 
Cory was mistaken, for the following captions will show that at least 
four colonies existed in Wisconsin prior to the publication of his book in

1912. 
1. Department of Wildlife Management, College of Agriculture, University
of 
Wisconsin. 
* I wish in particular to acknowledge the help of Arnold S. Buss, Donald

3ers, John T. Curtis, W.S. Feeney, William H. Field, H.M. Fuley, Fred 
Gardner, Albert Gastrow, Wallace Grange, Arthur S. Hawkins, S.!. Hayner,

Karl W. Kahmann, Helmer Mattison, John O'Donnell, A.J.Peterson, Lloyd Rmndell

Raymond Schenk, A.W. Schorger, Clarence A. Searles, Herbert L. Stoddard,

and C.A. Weitz.