The snowshoe hare is the most common and widespread hare in Alaska, found everywhere in the state except the lower Kuskokwim Delta, the Alaska Peninsula, and the area north of the Brooks Range.[24] They generally live in brush, mixed spruce forests, and wooded swamps.[24] Snowshoe hare populations are dramatically cyclical, and in peak years there may be up to 600 snowshoe hares per square mi (230/km²) of the animals' range.[24] The hares are a key food source for Alaska's furbearers, especially lynx, and are also important for human subsistence and recreational hunting.
The tundra hare is most often found on the western coast of Alaska, including the Alaska Peninsula, and can occasionally be seen on the Arctic coast and the north slope of the Brooks Range.[24] It generally lives on rocky slopes and upland tundra, avoiding lowlands and forests.[24] They are important for subsistence and recreational hunting and for fur trapping.[24]
