African Savanna Hare (Lepus microtis) lives in african open savanna across Sub-Saharan Africa. It feeds on grasses and leaves. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the African Savanna Hare
- Unlike many mammals that breed seasonally, these hares reproduce year-round, with gestation lasting 25-50 days and females capable of reabsorbing embryos 25 % of the time in autumn. A single female can raise up to four litters annually, averaging 1.6 young per litter but producing about eight offspring each year, ensuring a steady flow of new hares onto the savanna.
- When danger looms, the hare darts a short distance, then makes a sharp, sudden turn, often a vigorous side-leap, to break its scent trail, a tactic that confuses predators relying on smell. If the chase continues, it darts into aardvark holes or warthog burrows, using the landscape's hidden refuges to vanish from sight.
- Beyond its role as prey for birds and snakes, the hare has long been a human resource: its meat once fed communities across Africa and its thin, soft fur was woven into clothing. Yet when populations swell, they can become crop pests, gnawing roots and stems and threatening farmers' yields, illustrating a delicate balance between benefit and conflict.
- At just 41-58 cm long and weighing 1.5-3 kg, the African savanna hare packs the speed of a sports car, sprinting up to 70 km/h and leaping sideways to shred its scent trail.
- Spanning many African nations, from the Sahelian dunes of Mauritania to the highlands of Ethiopia, this hare thrives in savannas, scrubby grasslands, and even montane woodlands. Its home range may be as tiny as 5-10 ha.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeSub-Saharan Africa
HabitatAfrican open savanna
DietGrasses and leaves
About the African Savanna Hare
As the golden light of dawn breaks across the savanna, the African hare emerges, its long ears twitching like antennae as it navigates the grasslands with an air of quiet confidence. With powerful hind legs, it bursts into a blur of speed, its slender body a testament to its remarkable agility, capable of outrunning even the swiftest of predators. In this sun-baked landscape, the hare's large eyes shine like dark jewels, ever-vigilant, as it weaves a path through the tall grasses, a master of evasion and stealth.
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