Brown hare

The brown hare can run up to 50–60 km/h over short distances. It runs faster than the snowshoe hare, and its jumps are longer.
Grey partridges in winter search for food in brown hare burrows, as they cannot dig through snow themselves. They are unable to dig snow and therefore rely on brown hare burrows.
The brown hare continues to feed on seeds, grass chaff, winter crops, and remnants of garden crops during winter, digging them up from under the snow. In conditions of deep snow cover, it switches to woody and shrub vegetation.
The age of the brown hare is determined by the cartilaginous thickening on the ulna bone, which is strongly pronounced and easily palpable in young individuals. In older hares, the cartilage ossifies, and limb growth stops.
Brown hares in Western Europe may give birth to up to 5 litters per year. In years with warm winters and early springs, females manage to produce 5 litters.
The winter coat of the brown hare is only slightly lighter than the summer coat. Unlike snowshoe hares, brown hares are never completely white in winter. The head, tips of the ears, and the front part of the back remain dark even in winter.
The largest brown hare individuals are found in the northern and north-eastern parts of their range. Their weight can reach up to 7 kg.
Brown hare young become independent as early as 3–4 weeks. By 2 weeks old, they reach a weight of 300–400 g and actively eat grass.
The mating season of the brown hare can last throughout the year, with the first young appearing as early as January. In favorable climatic conditions, the mating season begins in January, while in Western Europe it usually lasts from March to September.
Brown hares descend to river floodplains in autumn and return to the mountains in spring. In the mountains, they descend to river floodplains in autumn and ascend back to the mountains in spring.

Age

Typical lifespan is from 8 years to 13 years 5 months. Maximum lifespan is 10 years 9 months. Age of sexual maturity is from 7 months 1 week to 1 year. Eyes of the cub open at birth. The cub begins to walk at birth. Gives birth to leverets. The cub is born fully covered with fur, with open eyes and able to run quickly. The mother comes to feed it one-two times per day. Adult hare. A fully grown animal that can reproduce and lives independently. Duration of the stage: from 1 month 2 weeks to 7 years.

Phenotype

The young European brown hare has soft fur to retain warmth and camouflage in grass, and its ears are already quite long, assisting in detecting danger; adult European hares possess dense fur that is brown in color with black tips on the ears, which is shorter in summer and thicker in winter. The adult’s very long ears help hear predators from a great distance and cool the body during heat, while large eyes positioned on the sides of the head provide a wide field of vision to notice danger promptly. The species has four legs, including strong and long hind legs that allow for large jumps and speeds up to 80 kilometers per hour.

Physiology

The brown hare’s body height ranges from 68 to 75 centimeters, and its body length measures from 50 to 70 centimeters; the species' mass varies from 3.65 to 4.08 kilograms. The young, in the “young” stage, have a body mass of 80 to 200 grams and a body length of 12 to 20 centimeters. An adult individual’s body mass is between 2.5 and 5 kilograms, with a body length also ranging from 50 to 70 centimeters.

Habitat

European brown hares inhabit landscapes including terrestrial forests, terrestrial meadows and steppes, and shrublands, at elevations up to 800 meters. The species occupies biomes such as temperate mixed forests with warm summers and many oak, birch, and maple trees; flooded meadows where water frequently covers the ground and there is abundant grass; temperate steppes with plentiful grass and few trees, experiencing rainfall; and taiga characterized by cold winters and numerous coniferous trees including spruce and pine. The climate varies, with summers ranging from cool to warm, never hot, between 15 and 25 degrees Celsius, and it is consistently very wet with frequent rain and high humidity. Rainfall is abundant, resulting in cool summers and snow in winter; some areas experience warm, pleasant summers with ample rainfall; and winters are not extremely cold.

Shelter

The brown hare inhabits areas with tall grass, crops, or bushes; the species does not have a permanent or long-term shelter. It lacks a fixed shelter and uses grass for protection from predators and for resting. The European brown hare does not utilize a constant refuge, instead seeking cover in vegetation such as tall grass, crops, or shrubs.

Geography

The European brown hare is found within the Palearctic biogeographical region and occupies several ecosystems, including Celtic broadleaf forests, Western European broadleaf forests, Baltic mixed forests, and European Atlantic mixed forests.

Feeding

The European brown hare eats only plants, including grass, herbs, and young shoots in summer, and bark, branches, and dry grass in winter; the species obtains food by gnawing on vegetation and employs foraging and grazing strategies. Its diet consists of grass, cereals, leguminous plants, tree bark, young shoots and sprouts, grain, and bark. The daily food requirement ranges from 0.5 kilograms to 1.2 kilograms, while the young consume milk. Predators that hunt the European hare include eagles, crocodiles, wolves, and badgers. Some cultures consume the animal, although it is not considered kosher.

Reproduction

European brown hares inhabit and develop on land, away from bodies of water, and their eggs, larvae, or young develop in a nest built on or near the ground. The species reproduces through live birth, with young being born alive on land, already covered in fur and with open eyes; the mother feeds them with milk but quickly leaves them in a shelter. Gestation lasts 1 month and 2 weeks, and the female has litters of 1 to 5 young. She produces from 3 to 5 litters during the warm season. The interval between reproduction is from 1 month and 1 week to 1 month and 3 weeks. Sexual reproduction is homogamy, always involving fertilization without generational change. Maturity occurs from 8 months to 1 year.