Brown Hare
Lepus europaeus
Unlike rabbits, hares do not live in burrows; they sleep in shallow depressions in the ground called 'forms.'
- Scientific name
- Lepus europaeus
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Mammalia › Lagomorpha › Leporidae › Lepus
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- grassland
- Habitat
- Open fields, meadows, hedgerows, and arable farmland.
- Diet
- Herbivorous: grasses, herbs, cereal crops, and in winter, bark and twigs.
- Range
- Europe, Western Asia, Introduced to Australia, Introduced to South America
- Size
- 50-70 cm long, weighing 2.5-6.5 kg
- Lifespan
- 2-4 years in the wild
- Active
- crepuscular
- Threats
- Intensive agricultural practices, habitat loss, and predation by foxes and raptors.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless and extremely skittish. Observe from a distance to avoid causing stress. If you find a young hare (leveret) alone in a field, do not touch or move it; the mother leaves them alone during the day to avoid attracting predators and will return at dusk.
The European hare ( Lepus europaeus ), also known as the brown hare , is a species of hare native to Europe and parts of Asia. It is among the largest hare species and is adapted to temperate, open country. Hares are herbivorous and feed mainly on grasses and herbs, supplementing these with twigs, buds, bark and field crops, particularly in winter. Their natural predators include large birds of prey, canids and felids. They rely on high-speed endurance running...
Photo: Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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