Molt is an important life history event for mammals occurring in temperate and cold zones. In the present paper, I investigate the pattern, timing and duration of seasonal molts of the Cape hares Lepus capensis Linnaeus, 1798 in northern China, by tracing and scoring the process of each molt quantitatively. All the seasonal molts in both overwintering and juvenile hares went through a similar order: midback (together with nape), flanks, belly, upper tail, and legs. Yet, there was a relatively confused pattern of replacement during the heaviest molting period of overwintering hares, compared to a relatively uniform pattern among juvenile hares. Overwintering hares experienced a spring and a fall molt. The fall molt was already initiated prior to completion of the spring molt and had a relatively short duration. Juveniles born early in the year (before July), before their fall molt, had undergone a postnatal molt, but those born late (July to September) had not. The juvenile fall molt had already begun when the postnatal molt was at its later stages. These facts suggest that the time budget for fall molt is tight and seasonally constrained. The timing and duration of molts in the overwintering and early-born juvenile hares were independent of individual age. Among overwintering hares, both sexes started spring molt synchronously, but the females were behind the males in late period of this molt and consequently further delayed throughout subsequent fall molt. This may be related to a higher cost of reproduction in females. No sexual difference was found in the molting progress of juvenile hares.
JavaScript jest wyłączony w Twojej przeglądarce internetowej. Włącz go, a następnie odśwież stronę, aby móc w pełni z niej korzystać.