Snowshoe hares are small, agile prey mammals populating the Yellowstone wilderness. They are the smallest vulnerable animal in the game, and appear in all game worlds, game modes and versions of WolfQuest. They are the oldest implementation of small prey. The implementation differs across major revisions of the game.
In WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition, snowshoe hares return with a refreshed artificial intelligence and one new seasonal morph. In spring and fall, their coat is tan-and-white. In winter, their coat is all-white. In summer, their coat is brown-and-white.
Hares appear in both single-player and multiplayer.
In WolfQuest: Classic, snowshoe hares are small, agile prey mammals, and the smallest prey animal in the game. Contrary to popular belief, the carcass of a hare cannot be picked up and carried around. Its carcass will remain on the ground where it was killed until it has been eaten. Once killed, a hare carcass will take up to three bites or more for a single wolf to devour.
Hares appear in both single-player and multiplayer.
A showshoe hare
In Legacy versions of WolfQuest, snowshoe hare are small mammals that spawn commonly in all episodes of WolfQuest. They are fast and will always flee when approached, but their speed can be matched effortlessly by the player and they will die with one bite.
Unfortunately, they only satisfy a small portion of hunger, and are gone in one mouthful. Hares are useful if the player is hunting elk, since they spawn quite frequently and are more than likely to appear mid-hunt.
A dead hare.
Hares appear in single-player and, prior to its disconnection, formerly appeared in multiplayer.
Scent[]
- Main article: Scent View#Anniversary Edition
In the Anniversary Edition's scent view, toggled by pressing the 
key, players can easily identify snowshoe hares by their soft amber-spectrum scent trails, spores, and glow. Like other NPCs, these entities and their tracks emit scent spores which follow the direction of the wind.
For controllers, scent view is toggled via the Xbox 
button, or the PlayStation 
button.
| Footprint | Category | Spore | Carcass | Sex | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Prey |  |
 |
N/A | Adult |
- Main article: Scent View#Classic
- Main article: Scent View#Legacy
Behavior[]
In the Anniversary Edition, snowshoe hares are completely passive and, being a small prey species, they pose no threat to any animal. They are always alert and will be quick to flee when approached by a predator; if chased, it will use evasive maneuvers — weaving left and right in a zig-zagging pattern — in an effort to throw off any hunters who pursue it.
Fortunately, snowshoe hares are fairly easy to keep up with and will be killed with a single bite. Canids who catch a snowshoe hare will follow-up their catch with a violent shake for good measure, ending with its carcass hanging limply from its killer's jaw, ready to be carried without protest or dropped and consumed on the spot.
Snowshoe hares will not interact with nor will their behavior be influenced by other prey animals, nor will they be attracted to carcasses. They simply pass by peacefully and wander for as long as they are not threatened. In-game, they are preyed upon by gray wolves including the player-wolf and their packmates, as well as coyotes, red foxes, dogs, and golden eagles. When preyed upon, the hare in question will dart forwards a little ways, and, if pursued, will run and zigzag in a desperate attempt to escape.
In Classic, snowshoe hares are passive towards the player-wolf and the AI mate, but will always immediately flee from any predator if distance is not maintained. A fleeing hare will use evasive maneuvers -- weaving left and right -- in an attempt to throw hunters off of their tail. Depending on the player-wolf's speed stat, it may be easy to keep up with or very tedious to match their pace long enough to make the killing blow.
Hares will not interact with nor will their behavior be affected by other prey animals, bushes or carcasses.In Legacy versions, hares are fairly simpllistic animals. They will flee in a linear path if approached by a wolf. They do not react to other species whether predator or prey, and will only react to the player's wolf and/or their mate. On occasion, the mate will autonomously hunt and kill and consume hares. Depending on the player's speed stat, it may be easy to keep up with or very tedious to match their pace long enough to make the killing blow.
Habitat[]
In the Anniversary Edition, snowshoe hares are abundant throughout each game map; their spawn nodes cover a wide range, though they cannot spawn on steep terrain. It is common to cross paths with a hare every so often while travelling across the wilderness.
In Classic, snowshoe hares utilise a mix of predetermined spawn nodes which trigger when the player-wolf draws closer, and random spawns believed to trigger at intervals.
Common locations to find them in Amethyst Mountain include the musical flower found on the south-eastern side of the largest pond, indicated by a solitary bunch of pink flowers.
Common locations to find them in Slough Creek include a spawner hidden within the circle of bushes on the eastern side of Little Butte.
In Legacy versions, snowshoe hares utilise a mix of predetermined spawn nodes which trigger when the player-wolf draws closer, and random spawns believed to trigger at intervals.
Common locations to find them in Amethyst Mountain include the musical flower found on the south-eastern side of the largest pond, indicated by a solitary bunch of pink flowers.
Common locations to find them in Slough Creek include a spawner hidden within the circle of bushes on the eastern side of Little Butte.
Life stages & Behavior[]
In the Anniversary Edition, snowshoe hares only appear as adults. There are no baby hares (leverets) in-game. It is unknown (thought unlikely) if there are any plans to add them.
In Classic, snowshoe hares only appear as adults. There are no baby hares (leverets) in-game.
In Legacy versions, snowshoe hares only appear as adults. Due to the limited budget and time constraints during the development of the original game, there are no baby hares (leverets) in-game.
Hunting Strategies[]
In the Anniversary Edition, snowshoe hares are the easiest animals to hunt, as a wolf does not even need to sprint to catch up to a running hare. Snowshoe hares are killed in a single bite, once the wolf makes contact with it. Since they are extremely easy to hunt and kill, a hare carcass will only provide 5% food.
Snowshoe hare best hunted when a player is extremely low on stamina and/or health, or otherwise unable to hunt larger prey. Snowshoe hares are a great way of keeping up one’s hunger when travelling as a lone wolf while not risking any health. They are also a great way to maintain hunger between 50-60% to maximize stamina in preparation for a larger hunt. Snowshoe hare carcasses also provide a decent meal for wolf pups that are able to eat meat. Instead of providing regurgitant to pups, a hare carcass will not expire after a nap.
If stamina is extremely low (e.g., when tired and hungry on Accurate), snowshoe hares can be hard to catch, and it is important to make use of the player wolf's speed when pursuing such a hunt. It's also a good idea to lead the hare through rocky or heavily forested terrain, since this will slow the hare down, or to ambush the hare from the direction it is facing.
It is possible for snowshoe hares to be hunted by foxes, coyotes, dogs, or golden eagles. If hare tracks are found intersecting with fox or coyote footprints, it is best to assume that there is a chase on-going, and that the snowshoe hare is much further away (since it is sprinting, and not just idly moving). No such tell-tale sign exists for golden eagles apart from the trail simply ending if it has already been caught; a low-flying eagle gliding above the ground is a sure sign that it has spotted and is actively hunting down a hare.In Classic,
In Legacy versions,
Carcass and Meat Chunk Information[]
- Main article: Carcass#Snowshoe hare
In the Anniversary Edition, owing to its size, a snowshoe hare carcasses is unable to provide meat chunks. Instead, they are portable and can be picked up, carried both on land and through water even while swimming, and dropped. The total food value of a snowshoe hare carcass is 5%.
In Classic,
In Legacy versions,
Gallery[]
Anniversary Edition Gallery
Contributions for Snowshoe hare in the Anniversary Edition are welcome in this gallery!
.png "WQ-AE Golden-eagle-snowshoehare(winter).png (269 KB)")
Classic Gallery
Contributions for Snowshoe hare in Classic are welcome in this gallery!
.PNG "Hare carcass (2.7).PNG (44 KB)")
.png "Hare carcass-winter (2.7).png (77 KB)")
Legacy Gallery
Contributions for Snowshoe hare in Legacy versions are welcome in this gallery!
Bugs[]
Anniversary Edition Bugs
- Hare tracks were erroneously reversed. This has since been corrected. (Unknown when; not addressed in patch notes?)
Classic Bugs
- Hare carcasses may despawn after being killed in the mobile edition. (Unknown if resolved.)
Legacy Bugs
- Killing hares followed by saving and reloading without eating the carcasses causes an interesting bug. When the game is reloaded, all hare carcasses will be replaced by elk carcasses. There is no benefit to this bug however, since the elk carcass replacements will only be worth one mouthful each.
- All hare encounters are 100% male. 0% of encounters are female.
- Hare scent trails do not project information about the animal in scent view.
Trivia[]
- The species of hare depicted in-game since its earliest days is the snowshoe hare, a common species abundant in Yellowstone. They do not hibernate and will gain a thick white coat for warmth and camouflage throughout the winter season.
Anniversary Edition Trivia
- The model used in this game was made by BennyG22, aka Phillip Guerrero.
- As a paid model, BennyG22 retains the rights to sell this model, so it may appear in other games.
- Hares are one of few animals who exhibit seasonal morphs. In spring and fall, their coat is tan-and-white. In winter, their coat is all-white.[1]
- A brown-and-white summer morph was introduced in beta 2 of public beta 1.0.8d, and the early access release 1.0.8d. They were first shown in their summer coat in the Meet the Prey developer's blog, posted June 6th 2019.
- Snowshoe hares remain tan-and-white from spring into summer. Their transition into the summer morph appears to coincide with the Hunt Newborn Ungulates! subquest.
- When it despawns, a golden who is carrying a hare carcass will drop its kill.
- Like many other animals other than wolves, hares are without sex identifiers.
Classic Trivia
Classic and Legacy Trivia
- The model may have been made in-house or by GearWorx.
- Hares were among few animals to lack sex identifiers in scent view.
- Encountered hares can be either male or female. In Legacy, they had a 100% male ratio.
- Hares are one of few animals who exhibit a seasonal morph. In winter, their coat is white. In spring, summer, and fall, their coat is tan-and-white.
Legacy Trivia
- Hare carcasses are ignored and will not be consumed by other predators.
- Hares do not change morph. They always appear in their spring-fall morph and never transition with the seasons, so the player never sees a winter hare.
References & External Links[]
- ↑ A Game for All Seasons • WolfQuest's official YouTube channel
| NPCs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Competitors & Predators | Bald eagle • Bobcat • Black bear • Cougar • Coyote • Dog • Golden eagle • Grizzly bear • Raven • Red fox | |||
| Prey | Beaver • Bighorn sheep • Bison • Domestic cattle • Elk • Moose • Mule deer • Porcupine • Pronghorn • Snowshoe hare | |||
| Newborns & Juveniles | Bighorn sheep lamb • Domestic cattle calf • Elk calf • Grizzly bear cub • Moose calf • Mule deer fawn • Pronghorn fawn | |||
| Wolves | Dispersal (Mate) • Offspring: Pup, Yearling, Adult, Disperser • Predator • Stranger | |||
| Non-interactable | Birds • Cat • Insect | |||
| Non-entity | Human | |||
| Miscellaneous | Airplane • Amphibians • Fish • Herds • Wolf Packs | |||
| Prey | ||
|---|---|---|
| Large | Bison (calf) • Elk (calf) • Domestic Cattle (calf) • Moose (calf) | |
| Medium | Bighorn sheep (lamb) • Mule deer (fawn) • Pronghorn | |
| Small | Beaver • Porcupine • Snowshoe hare | |
| Miscellaneous | Domestic Livestock • Fish • Juvenile • Newborn | |