Hares

Brown hares are shy, fast, and really unmistakable thanks to their long ears. They have also made a career as the “Easter Bunny”.

Characteristics

What do field hares look like?

Hares are mammals. They belong to the order of the lagomorphs and there to the family of the hare and to the genus of the real hare. Like rabbits, brown hares are not related to rodents. From head to bottom they measure 42 to 68 centimeters, the tail is six to 13 centimeters long.

With a length of up to 13 centimeters, the ears are the hallmark of the brown hare. The strong hind legs and the long hind feet are also typical: They measure up to 18 centimeters. Brown hares weigh between three and a half and seven kilograms.

The size of the animals depends in part on their habitat: brown hares from the Mediterranean region are significantly smaller than animals from more northerly and northeastern areas.

Hares have a long coat of wool and guard hair. It is yellowish gray to ocher brown or brown-red and sometimes mottled with black. The fur on the legs is light brown. The ears are gray with a black triangular patch at the tip. The tail, also known as the flower, is black above and white below.

However, the fur color can change slightly with the season: In winter, the animals usually become whiter on the head and grayer on the hips.

Where do hares live?

The original home of the brown hare extends from northern Spain to Mongolia and from Denmark and Finland to northern Spain, northern Italy, and southern Greece. But because brown hares were sought-after animals, they were also naturalized in other areas such as Great Britain, southern Italy, and southern Sweden.

Even in parts of North and South America, as well as southern and eastern Australia and New Zealand, brown hares have been released into the wild and are now at home there.

Brown hares love open landscapes such as light forests, steppes, dunes, meadows, and fields that are bordered by hedges, bushes, or forests.

What types of rabbits are there?

One of the brown hare’s closest relatives is the mountain hare, which lives in the arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America. And of course, they are related to the rabbits – but they do not belong to the real rabbits but form their own genus in the rabbit family.

How old do hares get?

With a lot of luck, brown hares can live a little over twelve years outdoors. However, many animals hardly live to be more than a year old.

Behave

How do hares live?

Brown hares are very shy, you rarely see them. Most of the year they are active almost exclusively at dusk and at night. Only at the beginning of the mating season can they sometimes be observed during the day. Outside of the mating season, hares – unlike rabbits – are real loners.

They spend the day in a shallow hollow in the ground, a so-called Sasse. Here they rest and sleep and hide from possible enemies. They even spend the winter in the Sasse and even let themselves be snowed in. So, unlike rabbits, they don’t dig underground structures.

When danger threatens, they flatten their ears and press themselves firmly into the saddle. They only flee at the very last moment. When fleeing, they can reach an incredible speed of 72 kilometers per hour and jump up to two meters high. They also do hooks as they flee. This means they change direction at lightning speed, often leaving their pursuers behind.

Hares can also easily overcome streams, lakes, and rivers because they are good swimmers. Thanks to their long, flexible ears, which are also called spoons, brown hares hear very well and can determine where a sound is coming from.

The animals then hold their ears erect and turn them in the direction from which the sound is coming. In this way, they can perceive and flee many dangers in good time.

Friends and foes of the hare

Hares have many enemies. Predators such as foxes, badgers, martens, birds of prey, and carrion crows are dangerous for them, as are dogs and cats. Many rabbits die in road traffic. In addition, the animals are hunted by humans in many countries.