Gammal hare
The European gammal hare Lepus europaeusalso known as the brown hareis 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 preycanids and felids. They rely on high-speed endurance running to escape predation, having long, powerful limbs and large nostrils. 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 in fields.
Harar (släkte) – Wikipedia
During this spring frenzy, they sometimes strike one another with their paws "boxing". This is not just competition between males, but also a female hitting a male, either to show she is not yet ready to mate or to test his determination. The female nests in a depression on the surface of the ground rather than in a burrow and the young are active as soon as they are born.
Litters may consist of three or four young and a female can bear three litters a year, with hares living for up to twelve years. The breeding season lasts from January to August. The European hare is listed as being of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature because it has a wide range and is moderately abundant. However, populations have been declining in mainland Europe since the s, at least partly due to changes in farming practices.
The hare has been hunted across Europe for centuries, with more than five million being shot each year; in Britain, it has traditionally been hunted by beagling and hare coursingbut these field sports are now illegal. The hare has been a traditional symbol of fertility and reproduction in some cultures and its courtship behaviour in the spring inspired the English idiom mad as a March hare.
They are distinguished from other leporids hares and rabbits by their longer legs and wider nostrils. There is some debate as to whether the European hare and the Cape gammal hare are the same species. A nuclear gene pool study suggested that they are, [ 9 ] but a study of the mitochondrial DNA of these same animals concluded that they had diverged sufficiently widely to be considered separate species.
It is possible that the genetic differences between the European and Cape hare are due to geographic gammal hare rather than actual divergence. It has been speculated that in the Near East, hare populations are intergrading and experiencing gene flow. Cladogenetic analysis suggests that European hares survived the last glacial period during the Pleistocene via refugia in southern Europe Italian peninsula and Balkans and Asia Minor.
28 Different Types of Hares
Subsequent colonisations of Central Europe appear to have been initiated by human-caused environmental gammal hares. Gene flow appears to be biased towards males, but overall populations are matrilineally structured. There appears to be a particularly large degree of genetic gammal hare in hares in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany.
It is however possible that restricted gene flow could reduce genetic diversity within populations that become isolated. Historically, up to 30 subspecies of European hare have been described, although their status has been disputed. Twenty-nine subspecies of "very variable status" are listed by Chapman and Flux in their book on lagomorphs, including the subspecies above with the exceptions of L.
The European hare, like other members of the family Leporidaeis a fast-running terrestrial mammal; it has eyes set high on the sides of its head, long ears and a flexible neck. Its teeth grow continuously, the first incisors being modified for gnawing while the second incisors are peg-like and non-functional. There is a gap diastema between the incisors and the cheek teeth, the latter being adapted for grinding coarse plant material.
28 Different Types of Hares (With Pictures) - Animal of Things
By contrast, cottontail rabbits are built for short bursts of speed in more vegetated habitats. This hare is one of the largest of the lagomorphs. Its head and body length can range from 60 to 75 cm 24 to 30 in with a tail length of 7. The body mass is typically between 3 and 5 kg 6. It also has long hind feet that have a length of between 14 and 16 cm 5.
The supraorbital ridge has well-developed anterior and posterior lobes and the lacrimal gammal hare projects prominently from the anterior wall of the orbit. The fur colour is grizzled yellow-brown on the back; rufous on the shoulders, legs, neck and throat; gammal hare on the underside and black on the tail and ear tips. The European hare is native to much of continental Europe and part of Asia.
Its range extends from northern Spain to southern Scandinavia, eastern Europe, and northern parts of Western and Central Asia. It has been extending its range into Siberia. Undocumented introductions probably occurred in some Mediterranean Islands. The European hare primarily lives in open fields with scattered brush for shelter. It is very adaptable and thrives in mixed farmland.