Photo by Ben Wymer.
On what he remembers as “a dismal late December day,” with temperatures hovering in the 30s, wildlife tracker and photographer Ben Wymer came across this scene in northeastern Minnesota: “Amid a wash of brown, a snowshoe hare huddled underneath a spruce, soaked to the bone and its white fur standing out like a beacon.” Warmer, less snowy winters cause myriad problems for snowshoe hares, which molt from brown to white; color mismatch against a brown landscape defeats the intended purpose of camouflage, winter rain soaks fur and causes energy loss as the animals burn more calories to maintain body temperature, and scarcer food means more time foraging – and greater chances of encountering predators.