Brown
Hare (Lepus europaeus)
Although found in many areas across the southeast, L. europaeus has become much more intermittently
distributed during the last century; no more so than in my home county of
Sussex. Reasons for the decline are varied but are believed to be connected to
a range of factors including agricultural intensification, predation, disease,
and both legal and illegal human persecution. It is due to this decline in
distribution and numbers that L.
europaeus was made a UK BAP priority species for conservation in 1995. Despite
its decline, L. europaeus is the only
game species in Britain, which does not have a shooting close season.
Although mating can take place almost all year round, with
February to September forming the principal breeding season, the familiar
boxing and chasing is most easily observed during March and April. Most boxing
is typically a doe, the female, fighting off the unwanted sexual advances of a
buck, the male, although male to male fighting is also recorded. When a doe is
ready to accept a buck, following a period of chasing and a variety of
gymnastic like movements, she presents herself and allows the buck to advance
and briefly mate with her.
I can't help thinking he's watching me ...
References:
Bjärvall,
A. and Ullström, S. (1986). Brown Hare. The
Mammals of Britain and Europe. Beckenham, Kent: Croom Helm Ltd, pp. 60-62.
Corbet,
G.B. and Harris, S. (1991, third edition). Brown Hare. The Handbook of British Mammals. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific
Publications, pp. 154-161.
