Brown Hare: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Rabbits and Hares · day 2 of 7

Five facts

1. The brown hare can sprint at 70 km/h. Faced with a hunter, it does not hide underground: it simply outruns it across open ground.
2. In spring, hares rear up and swat each other with their paws. This boxing is usually a female and a male, not two rival males as people long thought.
3. Baby hares, called leverets, arrive with a full coat of fur. They are ready to leave the nest soon after birth.
4. Leverets spread out by day and meet up at dusk. Their mother feeds them after sunset, then bounds off so she leaves no scent trail.
5. Hares talk with their ears: ears up means interest, ears down means keep away. Thumping the back feet warns others of a predator.

The quiz

1. How does a brown hare usually escape a predator?

• It dives into a deep burrow
• It outruns it in the open (correct)
• It climbs a tree
• It swims away

It can reach 70 km/h and relies on speed in open country.

2. Who is usually involved when hares box in spring?

• Two old males
• Two babies
• A hare and a fox
• A female and a male (correct)

Hare boxing usually pits a female against a male, not two rival males.

3. What are newborn leverets like?

• Furry and soon able to leave the nest (correct)
• Bald with closed eyes for a month
• Covered in scales
• Carried in a pouch

Leverets come into the world fully furred and ready to move.

4. Why does a mother hare leap away after feeding her young?

• To look for fresh grass
• To catch insects
• To avoid leaving a scent trail (correct)
• To call the father

She bounds off so that no smell leads predators to the leverets.

5. What does a hare mean when it lowers its ears?

• I am hungry
• Keep away (correct)
• Follow me
• I am sleepy

Lowered ears warn other hares to keep their distance.

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