If you’d like to save the shaping for your local hat shaper, choose Open and Flat. LENGTH. Litters may consist of three or four young and a female can bear three litters a year, with hares living for up to twelve years. [30] In these encounters, hares stand upright and attack each other with their paws, a practice known as "boxing", and this activity is usually between a female and a male and not between competing males as was previously believed. They do not appear to be territorial, living in shared home ranges of around 300 ha (740 acres). [28] When eating twigs, hares strip off the bark to access the vascular tissues which store soluble carbohydrates. [9] A 2008 study claims that in the case of Lepus species, with their rapid evolution, species designation cannot be based solely on mtDNA but should also include an examination of the nuclear gene pool. Hare Easter Bunny Cottontail rabbit Bunnies & Rabbits European rabbit, Small gray rabbit PNG size: 1417x974px filesize: 1.07MB Bugs Bunny Easter Bunny Cartoon Rabbit, rabbit PNG size: 500x500px filesize: 148.05KB In small gatherings, dominants are more successful in defending food, but as more individuals join in, they must spend more time driving off others. European Hare - Photo: Richard Guijt Photography/Shutterstock. The brown or European hare (L. europaeus) is a highly adaptable medium-sized mammal, commonly 3.8-4 kg in weight with the exception of some individuals reaching 5 kg, although there is much regional and sexual variation (Frylestam, 1980; Jennings et al., 2006). [20][35] Young can eat solid food after two weeks and are weaned when they are four weeks old. With regards to climate, the study found that hare densities were highest in "warm and dry districts with mild winters". [62][63] Hare can also be cooked in a casserole. If you’d like to save the shaping for your local hat shaper, choose Open and Flat. The five species of jackrabbits found in central and western North America are able to run at 64 km/h (40 mph) over longer distances, and can leap up to 3 m (10 ft) at a time. So, how do we actually tell the difference between the two groups? However, at low population densities, hares are vulnerable to local extinctions as the available gene pool declines, making inbreeding more likely. In addition to dominant animals subduing subordinates, the female fights off her numerous suitors if she is not ready to mate. [23] In Poland, hares are most abundant in areas with few forest edges, perhaps because foxes can use these for cover. Ord., p.30. [1] During the spring and summer, they feed on soy, clover and corn poppy[27] as well as grasses and herbs. [50] The mad hare reappears in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, in which Alice participates in a crazy tea party with the March Hare and the Mad Hatter. [5][20][22], Hares primarily live in open fields with scattered brush for shelter. To show interest they raise their ears, while lowering the ears warns others to keep away. "[52], The hare is a character in some fables, such as The Tortoise and the Hare of Aesop. [64] The meat is darker and more strongly flavoured than that of rabbits. Just the Facts: The European Hare or Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus) is a species of hare native to northern,central, and western Europe and western Asia. The breeding season lasts from January to August. This popularity has threatened regional varieties such as those of France and Denmark, through large-scale importing of hares from Eastern European countries such as Hungary. This would be similar to an adult human being with feet measuring 15.7-23.6 inch (40-60 cm). Fur colouration is a reddish brown in summer and a grey brown colour in winter, all other mountain hare species have a white winter coat. On average, a mature European hare weighs 3 to 4 kilograms, according to the Mammal Society (MS). [32] Females have six-weekly reproductive cycles and are receptive for only a few hours at a time, making competition among local bucks intense. Lepus timidus is widespread ranging from 75ºN (north Russia and Scandinavia) southwards to 40–50ºN. The larger the group, the less time dominant individuals have in which to eat. Young hares can be roasted; the meat of older hares becomes too tough for roasting, and may be slow-cooked. They are generally thought of as asocial but can be seen in both large and small groups. [6][7], There is some debate as to whether the European hare and the Cape hare are the same species. [13], Historically, up to 30 subspecies of European hare have been described, although their status has been disputed. In beagling, the hare is hunted with a pack of small hunting dogs, beagles, followed by the human hunters on foot. [45][46], In Europe, the hare has been a symbol of sex and fertility since at least Ancient Greece. The Best 20 Gallon Fish Tank Guide – 2020, The Best Aquarium Vacuum Buyers Guide – 2020, The Best Goldfish Food Buyers Guide – 2020, The Best Aquarium Rock Buyers Guide – 2020. [30] Female fertility continues through May, June and July, but testosterone production decreases in males and sexual behaviour becomes less overt. [2] It shares the genus Lepus (Latin for "hare"[3]) with 31 other hare and jackrabbit species,[4] jackrabbits being the name given to some species of hare native to North America. They are generally thought of as asocial but can be seen in both large and small groups. The female nests in a depression on the surface of the ground rather than in a burrow and the young are active as soon as they are born. Their mother visits them for nursing soon after sunset; the young suckle for around five minutes, urinating while they do so, with the doe licking up the fluid. They are seen less frequently where foxes are abundant or where there are many buzzards. Boyle responds that almost nothing is known about Ēostre, and that the authors had seemingly accepted the identification of Ēostre with the Norse goddess Freyja, but that the hare is not associated with Freyja either. The weight for a full-grown adult ranges from 2.5 to 6.5 kg. In comparison to the European rabbit, the hare has a proportionally smaller stomach and caecum. [5] Hares have traditionally been hunted in Britain by beagling and hare coursing. The open plains of Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire are a stronghold for brown hares, as are the Marlborough Downs in Wiltshire. [34], European hares have both external and internal parasites. "The Hare in Myth and Reality: A Review Article" as published in, International Union for Conservation of Nature, 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T41280A45187424.en, "Cladogenesis of the European brown hare (, 10.2193/0022-541X(2005)069[0760:GSOPOE]2.0.CO;2, "Ecology of European brown hare and distribution of natural foci of Tularaemia in the Czech Republic", "Relationships between density of brown hare, "Natal dispersal of European hare in France", "Exploration forays in juvenile European hares (, "Predation of foxes on a hare population in central Poland", "Disease reveals the predator: sarcoptic mange, red fox predation and prey populations", "Parasitic infections of the European brown hare (, "Hares could be wiped out, experts warn, as mystery deaths spark fears RHD-2 has 'jumped' from rabbits", "Licensed to kill: the landowners who shoot thousands of brown hares", British Association for Shooting and Conservation, Hunting and shooting in the United Kingdom, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=European_hare&oldid=988148062, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 11 November 2020, at 11:24. The supraorbital ridge has well-developed anterior and posterior lobes and the lacrimal bone projects prominently from the anterior wall of the orbit. [63][65], The European hare has a wide range across Europe and western Asia and has been introduced to a number of other countries around the globe, often as a game species. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. [20] The fur on the back is typically longer and more curled than on the rest of the body. The Cor­si­can hare, broom hare and Granada hare were at one time con­sid­ered to be sub­species of the Eu­ro­pean hare, but DNA se­quen… Nova Spec.Quad. Peak reproductive activity occurs in March and April, when all females may be pregnant, the majority with three or more foetuses. [18], This hare is one of the largest of the lagomorphs. When challenging a conspecific, a hare thumps its front feet; the hind feet are used to warn others of a predator. [19] Two to three adult hares can eat more food than a single sheep. These have been associated with the intensification of agricultural practices. The European hare was first described in 1778 by German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas. 8-10 weeks for delivery. John Andrew Boyle cites an etymology dictionary by A. Ernout and A. Meillet, who wrote that the lights of Ēostre were carried by hares, that Ēostre represented spring fecundity, love and sexual pleasure. The European Hare grows to about 50 – 70 centimetres and has a tail length of 7 – 11 centimetres. [5] During daytime, a hare hides in a depression in the ground called a "form" where it is partially hidden. [38] In Scandinavia, a natural epizootic of sarcoptic mange which reduced the population of red foxes dramatically, resulted in an increase in the number of European hares, which returned to previous levels when the numbers of foxes subsequently increased. Similarly, we found alterations among the reproductive patterns of European hares distributed in European hare or brown hare (Lepus europeus) and the other is island rabbit, Orytalagus cunicullus, which is brought from Europe and let out to Gökçeada near Çanakkale Province, and now is not feral animal. [67], A large species of hare native to Europe and parts of Asia, Hares fighting (above) and running during "March madness", Boyle, John Andrew (1974). [5] The Corsican hare, broom hare and Granada hare were at one time considered to be subspecies of the European hare, but DNA sequencing and morphological analysis support their status as separate species.