THE HARE
(Lepus europæus)
FOR many years the true or brown hare was known scientifically asLepus timidus, but as that name was originally bestowed by Linnæus on the blue hare of Sweden, it has been transferred to that species. Perhaps less confusion would have resulted had it been allowed to continue as the technical designation of the species with which it was so long associated.
No one, of course, can mistake a hare for any other animal, and therefore anything in the way of description would be superfluous. It is, however, important to point out the characters by which the brown, or English species, is distinguished from the blue hare, which is found in Scotland and Ireland.
The brown hare, then, is specially characterised by its relatively large size, its very long ears, which exceed the head in length, the presence of a distinct white streak above each eye, and of a rusty red area on the thigh and generally another on the flank; additional characteristics being the black upper surface of the tail and the black tips to the ears. The general colour of the thick soft fur is rufous tawny, mingled with black above and white beneath, the dark area extending, however, to the throat and chest; there is but little difference between the summer and the winter coat, although the latter is always somewhat the lighter. Length of limb, especially in respect of the hind pair, is a structural characteristic of the hare.
The range of the brown hare includes the whole of central Europe, and a small portion of western Asia; its northern limits in Europe being formed by the lowlands of Scotland, southern Sweden, and southern Russia, while in the south it extends to northern Italy, southern France, and Spain. Nine local races of the species are recognised, of which the British is known asL. europæus occidentalis.
Compared with the brown species, the blue or mountain hare, now known asL. timidus, is a smaller animal, with the ears, hind-legs, and tail shorter, the head smaller and more rounded, and the colour frequently bluish or brownish grey above in summer, without any rufous or brown on the flanks, but with black tips to the ears, and the under surface of the body white. The upper surface of the tail may be either dark or white; and as a rule the fur, with the exception of the black ear-tips, turns white in winter. The range of this species extends from Ireland and Sweden to the Alps, the Altai Mountains, the Caspian district, and Japan. It is represented by numerous races, of which three occur in the British Isles. Of these, the Irish hare (L. timidus hibernicus) has the ears shorter than the head, and the tail wholly white; the coat may turn white in severe winters. In the Scottish hare (L. t. scoticus), on the other hand, the ears are nearly as long as the head, theupper side of the tail is dusky in summer, and the whole coat, exclusive of the ear-tips, turns white in winter.
hare
The brown hare is essentially an animal of the open country, and more especially bare fields and fallows, with which its colour harmonises in a wonderful degree. And there is abundant need for this protective resemblance, as the hare has a host of enemies, against whom it has constantly to be on guard, and from whom its sole hope of escape depends upon its limbs. All the three protective senses, hearing, sight, and smell, are highly developed; the long ears detecting every audible sound, while the full, large, round eyes, with widely distended pupils, catch the smallest rays of light at night, when the hare is most active. It has been stated, indeed, that the eyes remain open during sleep, as the eyelids cannot be completely closed; but this is incorrect.
Hares pass most of the day in a lair or “form,” which is a smooth place between tussocks of grass or other covert, but they may live out in the open. The females produce at least two litters during the year, the number of leverets in which usually varies from two to five, although it is stated there have been as many as eleven. The young are born quite active and with their eyes open; those which come into the world in spring being capable of breeding the same autumn. The mother remains with her offspring only for the first five or six days after their birth, and then leaves them to shift for themselves.
The young hares of each litter remain together till half-grown, when they disperse; in fifteen months they attain full size, and their average duration of life is seven or eight years. Owing to their long hind-legs hares run much better uphill than downhill.