The European Hare (Lepus europaeus), also known as the Brown Hare, is native to western Asia and northern, central and western Europe. Even though it is related to the rabbit, it is larger in size and has longer legs and ears. The average European hare grows up to 50 to 70 cm and its tail is about 7 to 11 cm long. Its long legs endow it with great speed and it can touch up to 70 km per hour.
European hares are found in the temperate open country and they prefer to live in open pastures and fields. Unlike rabbits they do not live in burrows and often rely on their fast speed to get them to safety. European hares are also found around agriculture fields and crops. In certain areas of Argentina and Australia, they are considered a pest, since they breed really fast and can destroy crops.
European hares are herbivores. During the summers they feed on grasses, herbs, buds of young orchard trees, and field crops while in winters they change their diet to twigs, shrub bark, young fruit tree bark, and small trees. Two to three European hares can east as much as one sheep. Very often they also eat their soft fecal pellets.
European hares are generally quiet and shy mammals, but, their behavior undergoes a remarkable change during spring time, which is the mating season for them. Several times, you can see them chasing one another in meadows in broad daylight, in some form of dominance competition. Male hares (referred to as “jack” or “buck”) have “boxing matches” where they hit each other with their paws. The winner gets to take the girl home. However, if a female hare (also known as “doe” or “jill”) is not ready to mate, she also flexes her muscles and lands a knockout punch on the male. That is, however, not very usual.
The European hare’s natural predators are the golden eagle, the red fox, wolves, wild cats, coyotes, and larger owls. The European hare has excellent sense of smell, sight and hearing allowing him to detect a predator from a distance. As mentioned before, its incredible speed allows European hares great leverage over their predators. While running, they can also dodge and change direction quickly to confuse the animal chasing it.
The number of European hares is dwindling rapidly. There are a couple of reasons for this. Since they are considered to be pests by the farming community, they are exterminated mercilessly. In addition, they are also an important game animal in North America. Their white meat is considered to be particularly delicious.
