Springhares have long, soft fur, which shortens around the legs, heads, and ears. The colour of this mammal varies from a reddish-brown on its upperparts to an off-white belly and a black tip on the tail. Sometimes the ear tips are also black. Young springhares have finer and fluffier fur and usually have black patches of fur under their hind feet and in a patch of black under their tail base.
Springhares have a different number of toes on their forelegs and hindlegs. Their short forelegs have five digits, each ending in a long, sharp, curved claw, which can be 16 millimetres long. their long hindlegs have four digits, three of which are visibly developed and equipped with a strong triangular nail.
The oldest recorded individual was 88 months (7 years and 4 months) old.
Springhare fur is biofluorescent. Their biofluorescence is patchy, with areas important to grooming and intra-specific interactions being the most biofluorescent. Little is known about its biofluorescence, but both species of springhare are the first thoroughly documented cases of biofluorescence in an Old World eutherian mammal.
In a study of ear regeneration in mammals, springhares were found to have the capacity for minimal ear tissue regeneration. This regeneration is far behind to that of rabbits.
Springhares are nocturnal animals, who forage during the night and retreat to a burrow during the day. While sleeping in their burrows, springhares sleep standing, with their head and forelimbs bent down in between their hindlegs, and their tail wrapped around their feet. These animals are predated upon by a variety of predators, including humans; at least 21 species prey on springhares in the Kalahari. Springhares are burrowing animals. They dig their own burrows on well-drained sandy soils, preferentially during the wet season.
These individuals were photographed in the Kalahari National Park, South Africa.
