Kidney lesions discovered in Calgary’s urban jackrabbits

A veterinary researcher studying Calgary’s urban wildlife has uncovered a surprising health anomaly in the city’s jackrabbits (Lepus townsendii). In a recent study examining 130 jackrabbits found near city roadways, Dr. Jamie Rothenburger, wildlife veterinary pathologist and assistant professor in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (UCVM) at the University of Calgary, identified renal hamartomas—benign, tumor-like kidney growths—in six per cent of the animals.