Hares and jackrabbits
belong to family Leporidae, and mostly in genus Lepus. Very young
hares are called leverets. They are very fast moving. The European
Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus) can run at speeds of up to 70 km/h
(45 mi/h). Hares live solitarily or in pairs. A common type of
hare in arctic North America is the Snowshoe Hare, replaced further
south by the Black-tailed Jackrabbit, White-tailed Jackrabbit
and other species.
|
|
Normally a shy
animal, the European Brown Hare changes its behaviour in spring,
when hares can be seen in broad daylight chasing one another around
meadows; this appears to be competition between males to attain
dominance (and hence more access to breeding females). During
this spring frenzy, hares can be seen "boxing"; one
hare striking another with its paws. For a long time it had been
thought that this was more inter-male competition, but closer
observation has revealed that it is usually a female hitting a
male; either to show that she is not yet quite ready to mate,
or as a test of his determination. Hares do not bear their young
below ground in a burrow as do other Leporidae, but rather in
a shallow depression or flattened nest of grass called a form.
Young hares are adapted to the lack of physical protection offered
by a burrow by being precocial, born fully furred and with eyes
open. By contrast, the related rabbits and cottontail rabbits
are altricial, having young that are born blind and hairless.
Above Images From The National Parks Service
|
