Abstract: In order to study the seasonal variations of the digestive tract of the cape hare (Lepus capensis) from the hilly and gully area of the Loess Plateau in northern Shaanxi, several indices, such as weight and length of stomach, small intestine, caecum and large intestine of hares captured in four seasons were measured. For almost all indices, the greatest values were observed in winter and the least in summer. No significant difference was found between autumn and winter or between summer and spring; however, significant difference was found between autumn and summer. Pregnant hares had a greater dry mass of stomach as well as a longer caecum than non-pregnant hares. These results indicated that differences in length and weight of digestive tract were related to digestive strategies of hares. In order to maintain a normal physiological function in low temperature environment with high-fiber foods, hare adjusted the morphological structure of its digestive tract. This suggested that the adjustments in the morphological structure of gastrointestinal tract played an important role in the digestive strategies of hare in natural environment which is characterized as drought, little rain (mainly occurring in summer), hard winter and a large diurnal temperature range.

Key words: Nipponia nippon, road, Maxent model, breeding habitat