Hares are furry animals that are closely related to rabbits. They are leporids from the Lepus genus.
Hares are also categorized in the same family as rabbits. They can easily be mistaken for Rabbits because they are alike in figure and size.
Nevertheless, the difference between hares and rabbits is that hares possess longer ears and live alone or in groups of two.
Another difference that distinguishes them from rabbits is that their offspring can care for themselves almost immediately after birth.
The most peculiar thing or difference is that most hares are fast runners. They are endemic to Africa, North America, and Eurasia.
There are 32 species of hares across various subgenuses. Some of the species include:
- Antelope jackrabbit (Lepus alleni)
- Snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus)
- Arctic hare (Lepus arcticus)
- Alaskan hare (Lepus othus)
- Mountain hare (Lepus timidus)
- Black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus)
- White-sided jackrabbit (Lepus callotis)
- Cape hare (Lepus capensis)
- Tehuantepec jackrabbit (Lepus flavigularis)
- Black jackrabbit (Lepus insularis)
- Scrub hare (Lepus saxatilis)
- Desert hare (Lepus tibetanus)
Hares are known for their lightning speed, and they can run up to 80 kilometers per hour (50 miles per hour) over brief distances.
When the distance is longer, some hares, particularly the European hare, can run at 56 kilometers per hour (35 miles per hour).
The five species of jackrabbits in the central and western parts of North America can run at 64 kilometers per hour (40 miles per hour) over longer distances and leap as high as 3 meters at a time.
Their offspring are usually predated on by foxes, stoats, vultures, and owls, but the adult hares often use their incredible speed to escape their attacks. Their lifespan ranges between 2 – 4 years.
Scientific Classification
| Domain | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Lagomorpha |
| Family | Leporidae |
| Genus | Lepus |
Description
Hares are larger, more athletic-looking, and much swifter than rabbits. Their limbs are also longer than that of the rabbits. The tip of their ears are black, and they have longer tails than rabbits. Hares are described as solitary and shy animals.
They are not known to breed or live in groups, alone or in twos. Their young ones are adaptable to the absence of physical protection, so they are born open-eyed and fully furred, unlike their close relatives, the rabbits whose young are born blind and hairless.
Hares are known to develop and mature very early, and soon after birth, the young ones can look after themselves. Hares can easily be spotted during dusk or early morning hours feeding.
During feeding time, they often sit up to observe their surroundings. They use their sharp olfactory and auditory senses to locate nearby predators.
When they are in motion on the ground, they keep their bodies close to the earth and sleep their eyes flat on their backs to remain unnoticed.
Hares are hearty eaters, and they consume sizeable quantities of plants. This makes their digestive system configured to handle the quantity of food they take.
During the day, they secrete soft droppings that they eat. The food present in the droppings provides the needed nutrition.
The other thing contained in the feces is bacteria, which helps break down the food in their stomachs. At night, they expel solid, firm, and round feces. Mother hares have a special way of communicating with their offspring.
This is a safety measure as the sound enables them to find her and suckle.
Offspring
Hares mostly mate during the period between January and October. Spring is their primary mating season.
The period from their mating to conception to birth ranges between 42 – 44 days. Two or three young hares are born during delivery, and young hares are called “leverets.”
They are born in a nest enclosed in a form and lined with grass. After birth completion, they are put in separate forms. These forms usually have tall grasses that can keep them obscure. The mother hare comes to them at night, and they suckle from her.
During her absence, the young hares stay still and lie low to avoid discovery by predators. The leverets can look after themselves when they reach three weeks old, but it takes eight weeks to attain adulthood.
The female hare (Jill) can produce three to four litters yearly.
Diet
Hares are herbivorous animals. They feed strictly on plants (grass, vegetables, and flowers) and plant produce (fruits and seeds).
Habitat
Grasslands, farms, and open countries are some habitats that hares choose. They also reside in shallow depressions made in the ground or simple nests on the ground.
Conservation
Fortunately, hares are not extinct or in fear of being endangered.
