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Brown hare sitting up on hind legs practising 'boxing'

Hare

Hares are much longer-limbed and swifter than rabbits. They use their powerful hind legs to escape predation by outrunning their enemies, and have been known to reach speeds of 72kph (45mph). Brown hares are widespread throughout central and western Europe, including most of the UK, where they were introduced by the Romans. Courtship involves boxing, and this well-known 'mad March hare' behaviour actually involves unreceptive females fending off passionate males.

Did you know?
The European hare is the fastest land mammal in the UK.

Scientific name: Lepus europaeus

Rank: Species

Common names:

  • Brown hare,
  • European hare

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Distribution

Map showing the distribution of the Hare taxa

Species range provided by WWF's Wildfinder.

The Hare can be found in a number of locations including: Asia, Europe, Russia, United Kingdom, Wales. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.

Habitats

The following habitats are found across the Hare distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.

Behaviours

Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.

Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web

Conservation Status

Least Concern

  1. EX - Extinct
  2. EW
  3. CR - Threatened
  4. EN - Threatened
  5. VU - Threatened
  6. NT
  7. LC - Least concern

Population trend: Decreasing

Year assessed: 2008

Classified by: IUCN 3.1

About

The European hare (Lepus europaeus), also known as the brown hare, is a species of hare native to Europe and western Asia. It is a mammal adapted to temperate, open country. It is related to and looks very similar to the European rabbit, which is in the same family but in a different genus. Hares are larger than the European rabbit, have longer ears and hind legs and breed on the ground rather than in a burrow. They rely on speed to escape from predators.

Generally nocturnal and shy in nature, hares change their behaviour in the spring, when they can be seen in broad daylight chasing one another around fields and meadows. During this spring frenzy, they can be seen "boxing", where hares strike one another with their paws. For a long time, this had been thought to be competition between males, but closer observation has revealed it is usually a female hitting a male, either to show she is not yet ready to mate or as a test of his determination. This species has a fairly long breeding season which lasts from January to August. Hares are herbivorous and feed on grasses, herbs, twigs, buds, bark and field crops. Their natural predators include hawks, falcons, wolves, bears, and lynxes.

The European hare is listed as being of Least Concern by the IUCN. However it is declining in mainland Europe because of changes in farming practices. The hare has been a symbol of fertility and reproduction in pagan cultures, and its courtship behaviour in the spring inspired the English idiom "mad as a March hare".

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