Occurrence of Shock Disease Among Young Snowshoe Hares.

Abstract

The term, shock disease,1 has been introduced to describe a disease of snowshoe hares which is associated with the periodic die-off of these animals in the wild. Hares afflicted with this condition have a disturbance of carbohydrate metabolism resulting from liver degeneration. Shock disease has been observed among adult hares in their natural environment, and its presence in hare populations has been demonstrated during the winter months by trapping and holding animals in captivity. Hares taken from certain areas succumbed rapidly from the shock of unnatural conditions, and death was usually accompanied by an extremely low blood sugar level.The recognition of shock disease among adult hares during winter months raised the question of whether this disease occurs in young hares during the warm months. To gain this information, adult hares were placed in a fenced area of natural habitat in the spring of 1936 and, together with the young subsequently born, were kept under close observation throughout the sum...