(_Lepus europæus_)
For many years the true or brown hare was known scientifically as
_Lepus 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 as _L. europæus occidentalis_.
Compared with the brown species, the blue or mountain hare, now known
as _L. 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, the upper side of the tail is dusky in summer, and the
whole coat, exclusive of the ear-tips, turns white in winter.
[Illustration]
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.