{{short description|Large species of hare native to Europe and parts of Asia}} {{featured article}} {{not to be confused with|European rabbit}} {{speciesbox | name = European hare | fossil_range = Pleistocene–recent<ref name="PaleobioDB" /><br />{{Fossil range|0.774|0}} | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref =<ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |title=''Lepus europaeus'' |name-list-style=amp |author=Hacklander, K. |author2=Schai-Braun, S. |date=2019 |article-number=e.T41280A45187424 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T41280A45187424.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref> | image = {{Easy CSS image crop |image = European hare (Lepus europaeus) Marken 2.jpg
|desired_width = 220 |crop_left_perc = 35 |crop_right_perc =15 |crop_top_perc = 10 |crop_bottom_perc = 5 |alt = |Location = center }}
| genus = Lepus | species = europaeus | authority = Pallas, 1778 | range_map = European Hare area.png | range_map_caption = European hare range<br />(dark red – native, red – introduced) }}
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 red foxes and large birds of prey. 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. During this spring frenzy they sometimes strike one another with their paws ("boxing"). This is not just competition between males: females may also hit males, either to show they are not ready to mate or to test the males' determination. The female nests in a depression on the surface of the ground known as a form 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 1960s, 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 coursing, but these field sports are now illegal (though illegal hare-coursing continues). The hare is 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''. Female hares are known as ''does'', while juveniles are ''leverets''.
== Taxonomy and genetics == [[File:LiebreIberica (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|The Granada hare (''Lepus granatensis'') was once considered a subspecies of the European hare]]
The European hare was first described in 1778 by German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas.<ref>{{cite book | last=Pallas | first=Peter Simon | author-link=Peter Simon Pallas | year=1778 | title=Novae Species Quadrupedum e Glirium Ordine | publisher=Wolfgangi Waltheri | place=Erlanger | page=30 | language=la | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/15494839 }}</ref> It shares the genus ''Lepus'' (Latin for "hare"<ref>{{cite web|title=Lepus|publisher=Online Etymology Dictionary|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=Lepus|access-date=15 September 2016}}</ref>) with 32 other hare and jackrabbit species,<ref>{{MSW3 Lagomorpha | id = 13500099 | pages = 195–205 | heading = Genus ''Lepus''}}</ref> jackrabbits being the name given to some species of hare native to North America. They are distinguished from other leporids (hares and rabbits) by their longer legs and wider nostrils.<ref name=ChapmanIUCN/> The Corsican hare, broom hare and Granada hare were at one time considered to be subspecies of the European hare, but DNA sequencing and morphological analysis support their status as separate species.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Palacios, F. |year=1989 |title=Biometric and morphologic features of the species of the genus ''Lepus'' in Spain |journal=Mammalia |volume=53 |issue=2 |pages=227–264 |doi=10.1515/mamm.1989.53.2.227|s2cid=84763076 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author1=Riga, F. |author2=Trocchi, V. |author3=Randi, E. |author4=Toso, S. |year=2001 |title=Morphometric differentiation between the Italian hare (''Lepus corsicanus'' De Winton, 1898) and the European brown hare (''Lepus europaeus'' Pallas, 1778) |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=253 |issue=2|pages=241–252 |doi=10.1017/S0952836901000218 |bibcode=2001JZoo..253..241R }}</ref>
There is some debate as to whether the European hare and the Cape hare are the same species. A 2005 nuclear gene pool study suggested that they are,<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Ben Slimen, H. |author2=Suchentrunk, F. |author3=Memmi, A. |author4=Ben Ammar Elgaaied, A. | year=2005 | title=Biochemical genetic relationships among Tunisian hares (''Lepus sp.''), South African Cape hares (''L. capensis''), and European brown hares (''L. europaeus'') | journal=Biochemical Genetics | volume=43 | issue=11–12 | pages=577–596 | pmid=16382363 | doi=10.1007/s10528-005-9115-6 |s2cid=28323931 }}</ref> but a 2006 study of the mitochondrial DNA of these same animals concluded that they had diverged enough to be considered separate species.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Ben Slimen, H. |author2=Suchentrunk, F. |author3=Memmi, A. |author4=Sert, H. |author5=Kryger, U. |author6=Alves, P. C. |author7=Elgaaied, A. B. A. | year=2006 | title=Evolutionary relationships among hares from North Africa (''Lepus'' sp. or ''Lepus'' spp.), Cape Hares (''L. capensis'') from South Africa, and brown hares (''L. europaeus''), as inferred from mtDNA PCR-RFLP and allozyme data | journal=Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research | volume=44 | issue=1 | pages=88–99 | doi=10.1111/j.1439-0469.2005.00345.x |doi-access=free }}</ref> A 2008 study claims that in the case of ''Lepus'' species, with their rapid evolution, cannot be separated based on mtDNA alone but should also include data from the nuclear gene pool.<ref name=BenSlimen2008>{{cite journal |author1=Ben Slimen, H. |author2=Suchentrunk, F. |author3=Ben Ammar Elgaaied, A. | year=2008 | title=On shortcomings of using mtDNA sequence divergence for the systematics of hares (genus ''Lepus''): An example from Cape hares | journal=Mammalian Biology | volume=73 | issue=1 | pages=25–32 | doi=10.1016/j.mambio.2007.02.003 |bibcode=2008MamBi..73...25B }}</ref> It has been speculated that in the Near East, hare populations are interbreeding and experiencing gene flow.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Ben Slimen, H. |author2=Suchentrunk, F. |author3=Stamatis, C. |author4=Mamuris, Z. |author5=Sert, H. |author6=Alves, P. C. |author7=Kryger, U. |author8=Shahin, A. B. |author9=Ben Ammar Elgaaied, A. | year=2008 | title=Population genetics of Cape and brown hares (''Lepus capensis'' and ''L. europaeus''): A test of Petter's hypothesis of conspecificity | journal=Biochemical Systematics and Ecology | volume=36 | issue=1 | pages=22–39 | doi=10.1016/j.bse.2007.06.014 |bibcode=2008BioSE..36...22B }}</ref> Despite this interbreeding, the Cape hare is still considered a distinct species, albeit one with controversial genetic relationships to other African hares.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lado |first1=Sara |last2=Alves |first2=Paulo C. |last3=Islam |first3=M. Zafarul |last4=Brito |first4=José C. |last5=Melo-Ferreira |first5=José |date=2019 |title=The evolutionary history of the Cape hare (Lepus capensis sensu lato): insights for systematics and biogeography |journal=Heredity |language=en |volume=123 |issue=5 |pages=634–646 |doi=10.1038/s41437-019-0229-8 |issn=1365-2540 |pmc=6972951 |pmid=31073237 |bibcode=2019Hered.123..634L }}</ref> Leandro Iraçabal and colleagues conducted a study of several mitochondrial and nuclear genes across nearly all lagomorph species in 2024 that placed the Cape hare in a separate clade from the European hare, and indicated that the European hare's closest genetic relative was the Abyssinian hare found in the Horn of Africa:<ref name="Iraçabal-2024" /> {{clade |label1=part of ''Lepus'' genus |1={{clade |1={{clade |1={{clade |1={{clade |1='''''Lepus europaeus''''' |2=''Lepus habessinicus'' }} |2=''Lepus granatensis'' }} |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''Lepus hainanus'' |2=''Lepus peguensis'' }} |2=''Lepus nigricollis'' }} }} |2={{clade |1=''Lepus comus'' |2=''Lepus oiostolus'' }} }} }}
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. Subsequent colonisations of Central Europe appear to have been followed by human-caused environmental changes.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Fickel, J.|author2=Hauffe, H. C.|author3=Pecchioli, E.|author4=Soriguer, R.|author5=Vapa, L.|author6=Pitra, C.|year=2008|title=Cladogenesis of the European brown hare (''Lepus europaeus'' Pallas, 1778)|journal=European Journal of Wildlife Research|volume=54|issue=3|pages=495–510|doi=10.1007/s10344-008-0175-x|bibcode=2008EJWR...54..495F |url=http://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/62899/1/european.pdf|hdl=10261/62899|s2cid=8860690|hdl-access=free}}</ref> A study of hares in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany, found high genetic diversity with no signs of inbreeding. Gene flow appears tends to be carried more though males, but overall populations are split via maternal lines. It is however possible that restricted gene flow could reduce genetic diversity within populations that become isolated.<ref name=Fickel2005>{{cite journal |author1=Fickel, J. |author2=Schmidt, A. |author3=Putze, M. |author4=Spittler, H. |author5=Ludwig, A. |author6=Streich, W. J. |author7=Pitra, C. | year=2005 | title=Genetic structure of populations of European brown hare: Implications for management | journal=Journal of Wildlife Management | volume=69 | issue=2 | pages=760–770 | doi=10.2193/0022-541X(2005)069[0760:GSOPOE]2.0.CO;2|s2cid=86210991 }}</ref> The oldest fossil records of the European hare are found in Italy and Romania, and may date back {{Ma|0.774}};<ref name=PaleobioDB>{{Cite web|url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/basicTaxonInfo?taxon_no=txn:231747|title=''Lepus europaeus'' (European hare)|website=Paleobiology Database |access-date=2025-10-20}}</ref> this aligns with time estimates for the species' genetic divergence from its closest relative, the Abyssinian hare, in the late Pleistocene.<ref name="Iraçabal-2024">{{Cite journal |last1=Iraçabal |first1=Leandro |last2=Barbosa |first2=Matheus R. |last3=Selvatti |first3=Alexandre Pedro |last4=Russo |first4=Claudia Augusta de Moraes |date=2024 |title=Molecular time estimates for the Lagomorpha diversification |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=19 |issue=9 |article-number=e0307380 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0307380 |doi-access=free |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=11379240 |pmid=39241029}}</ref>
Historically, up to 30 subspecies of European hare have been described, although their status has been disputed.<ref name=ChapmanIUCN>{{cite book |author1=Chapman, Joseph A. |author2=Flux, John E. C. |title=Rabbits, Hares and Pikas: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q994k86i0zYC&pg=PA76 |year=1990 |publisher=IUCN |isbn=978-2-8317-0019-9 |pages=62, 76–78}}</ref> These subspecies have been distinguished by differences in pelage colour, body size and measurements, skull morphology and tooth shape.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Suchentrunk, F. |author2=Mamuris, Z. |author3=Sfougaris, A. I. |author4=Stamatis, C. |year=2003 |title=Biochemical genetic variability in brown hares (''Lepus europaeus'') from Greece |journal=Biochemical Genetics |volume=41 |issue=5–6 |pages=127–140 |pmid=12834043 |doi=10.1023/A:1023354709392|s2cid=7268456 }}</ref>
Sixteen subspecies are listed in the IUCN red book, following Hoffmann and Smith (2005):<ref name=iucn /> {{columns-list|colwidth=14em|style=font-style: italic;| * ''Lepus europaeus caspicus'' * ''L. e. connori'' * ''L. e. creticus'' * ''L. e. cyprius'' * ''L. e. cyrensis'' * ''L. e. europaeus'' * ''L. e. hybridus'' * ''L. e. judeae'' * ''L. e. karpathorum'' * ''L. e. medius'' * ''L. e. occidentalis'' * ''L. e. parnassius'' * ''L. e. ponticus'' * ''L. e. rhodius'' * ''L. e. syriacus'' * ''L. e. transsylvanicus'' }}
Twenty-nine<!--not 30 as stated--> 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. e. connori'', ''L. e. creticus'', ''L. e. cyprius'', ''L. e. judeae'', ''L. e. rhodius'', and ''L. e. syriacus'') and additionally:<ref name=ChapmanIUCN/> {{columns-list|colwidth=14em|style=font-style: italic;| * ''L. e. alba'' * ''L. e. argenteogrisea'' * ''L. e. biarmicus'' * ''L. e. borealis'' * ''L. e. caspicus'' * ''L. e. caucasicus'' * ''L. e. flavus'' * ''L. e. gallaecius'' * ''L. e. hispanicus'' * ''L. e. hyemalis'' * ''L. e. granatensis'' * ''L. e. iturissius'' * ''L. e. kalmykorum'' * ''L. e. meridiei'' * ''L. e. meridionalis'' * ''L. e. niethammeri'' * ''L. e. niger'' * ''L. e. tesquorum'' * ''L. e. tumak'' }}
== Description == left|thumb|Hare skull
The European hare, like other members of the family Leporidae, is a fast-running terrestrial mammal. This species the largest of the hares native to Europe being {{cvt|55|to|65|cm}} long from head to body with {{cvt|7.5|–|14|cm}} tail and weighing {{cvt|3.5|–|5|kg}}.<ref name=Bock>{{cite journal|last=Bock|first=A|year=2020|title=''Lepus europaeus'' (Lagomorpha: Leporidae)|journal=Mammalian Species|volume=52|issue=997|pages=125–142|doi=10.1093/mspecies/seaa010}}</ref> The hare's elongated ears range from {{cvt|9.4|to|11.0|cm}} from the notch to tip. It also has long hind feet that have a length of between {{cvt|14|and|16|cm}}.<ref name=Naughton/> The dental formula is 2/1, 0/0, 3/2, 3/3.<ref name=Naughton/>
The European hare is slenderer than the European rabbit,<ref name=Bock/> and its dark limb musculature gives it great stamina when running at high speeds in open country. By contrast, cottontail rabbits are built for short sprints in more vegetated habitats.<ref name=ChapmanIUCN/><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Schnurr, D. L. |author2=Thomas, V. G. |year=1984 |title=Histochemical properties of locomotory muscles of European hares and cottontail rabbits |journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology |volume=62 |issue=11 |pages=2157–2163 |doi=10.1139/z84-313|bibcode=1984CaJZ...62.2157S }}</ref> Other adaptions for endurance running include wider nostrils and larger hearts.<ref name=ChapmanIUCN/> In comparison to the European rabbit, the hare has a proportionally smaller stomach and caecum.<ref name="Stott"/>
Grizzled yellow-brown fur covers the back and becomes rufous on the shoulders, legs, neck and throat and white on the underside and black on the tail and ear tips.<ref name=Naughton/> The fur on the back is typically longer and more curled than on the rest of the body.<ref name=ChapmanIUCN/> The European hare's fur mostly remains the same throughout the year,<ref name=Bock/><ref name=Naughton>{{cite book |author=Naughton, D. |year=2012 |title=The Natural History of Canadian Mammals |publisher=University of Toronto Press |pages=235–238 |isbn=978-1-4426-4483-0}}</ref> although the sides of the head and base of the ears do develop white areas and the hip and rump region may gain some grey.<ref name=ChapmanIUCN/>
{{clear|left}}
== Distribution and habitat == thumb|right|Hare running in open field|alt=Photograph of a running hare The European hare is native to much of continental Europe, reaching as far north as 60N, and as far east as Central Asia. It has been extending its range into Siberia.<ref name=Fickel2005/><ref name=ChapmanIUCN/> It may have been introduced to Great Britain between 500 and 300 BCE.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://news-archive.exeter.ac.uk/featurednews/title_787590_en.html | publisher=University of Exeter |date=9 April 2020|title=Brown hares and chickens were treated as "gods" not food when they arrived in Britain, research shows|accessdate=9 May 2021}}</ref> It has also been introduced, mostly as game animal, to North America in Ontario and New York State, and unsuccessfully in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, the Southern Cone in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile, Peru and the Falkland Islands, Australia, both islands of New Zealand, the south Pacific coast of Russia,<ref name=ChapmanIUCN/><ref name=Naughton/><ref>{{cite journal |author=Bonino, N. A. |author2=Cossios, D. |author3=Menegheti, J. |year=2010 |title=Dispersal of the European hare, ''Lepus europaeus'' in South America |journal=Folia Zoologica |volume=59 |issue=1 |pages=9–15 |url=http://www.ivb.cz/folia_zoologica/archive/59_9-15.pdf |access-date=2016-09-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917083159/http://www.ivb.cz/folia_zoologica/archive/59_9-15.pdf |archive-date=2016-09-17 |doi=10.25225/fozo.v59.i1.a3.2010 |s2cid=4675498}}</ref> and Ireland.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Caravaggi |first1=Anthony |last2=Montgomery |first2=Ian |last3=Reid |first3=Neil |date=2017 |title=Management and control of invasive brown hares (Lepus europaeus): contrasting attitudes of selected environmental stakeholders and the wider rural community |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/809424 |journal=Biology and Environment: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy |language=en |volume=117B |issue=2 |pages=53–63 |doi=10.1353/bae.2017.0010 |bibcode=2017BEPRI.117...53C |issn=2009-003X|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
The European hare primarily lives in open fields and shelter in scattered vegetation. It is a versatile species and thrives in mixed farmland.<ref name=ChapmanIUCN/> In its native steppe habitat, European hare populations are spread apart and average roughly 2 individuals per 100 hectares. Conversely, population densities of up to 275 hares per 100 hectares are seen in milder climates.<ref>{{Lagomorphs2018|first1=Klaus|last1=Hackländer|chapter=''Lepus europaeus'' Pallas, 1778 European hare|first2=Stéphanie|last2=Schai-Braun}}</ref> According to a study in the Czech Republic, hares are most numerous at areas with below {{cvt|200|m}} above sea level, and an average temperature {{cvt|10|°C}} throughout the year. With regards to climate, the European hare density was highest in "warm and dry districts with mild winters".<ref name=Pikula2004>{{cite journal |author1=Pikula, J. |author2=Beklová, M. |author3=Holešovská, Z. |author4=Treml, F. |year=2004 | title=Ecology of European brown hare and distribution of natural foci of Tularaemia in the Czech Republic |journal=Acta Veterinaria Brno |volume=73 |issue=2 |pages=267–273 |doi=10.2754/avb200473020267 |doi-access=free}}</ref> In Poland, the European hare is most abundant in areas with few forest edges, perhaps because foxes can use these for cover. It requires cover, such as hedges, ditches and permanent cover areas, because these habitats supply the varied diet it requires, and are found at lower densities in large open fields. High cultivation results in greater mortality of young hares.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Panek, M. |author2=Kamieniarz, R. |year=1999 |title=Relationships between density of brown hare ''Lepus europaeus'' and landscape structure in Poland in the years 1981–1995 |journal=Acta Theriologica |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=67–75 |doi=10.4098/at.arch.99-7 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
In Great Britain, the European hare is seen most frequently on arable farms, usually with crop rotation and fallow land, wheat and sugar beet crops. In mainly grass farms, its numbers increased with are improved pastures, some arable crops and patches of woodland. It is seen less frequently where foxes are abundant or where there are many common buzzards. They do not appear to directly compete with European rabbits. Although European hares are shot as game when plentiful, this is a self-limiting activity and is less likely to occur in localities where the species is scarce.<ref name=Vaughan2003>{{cite journal |author1=Vaughan, N. |author2=Lucas, E. |author3=Harris, S. |author4=White, P. C. L. |year=2003 |title=Habitat associations of European hares ''Lepus europaeus'' in England and Wales: Implications for farmland management |journal=Journal of Applied Ecology |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=163–175 |jstor=827268 |doi=10.1046/j.1365-2664.2003.00784.x|doi-access=free |bibcode=2003JApEc..40..163V }}</ref>
== Behaviour and life history == right|thumb|European hare hiding in a "form"|alt=Photograph of a hare crouching in a hollow The European hare is primarily nocturnal and spends a third of its activity foraging.<ref name=ChapmanIUCN/> During daytime, it hides in a depression in the ground called a "form" where it is partially hidden. It can run at {{cvt|70|km/h|mi/h}}, and when confronted by predators it relies on outrunning them in the open. It is generally thought of as asocial but can be seen in both large and small groups. It does not appear to be territorial, living in overlapping home ranges of around {{cvt|300|ha}}. Communication between hares is by a variety of visual signals. Interest is shown by raising ears, while lowering ears warns others to keep away. When challenging another individual, a hare thumps its front feet; the hind feet are used to warn others of a predator. It squeals when hurt or scared, and a female makes "guttural" calls to attract her young.<ref name=Naughton/> A hare can live 8–13 years.<ref name=Bock/>
=== Food and foraging === thumb|left|Hares feeding in a small group|alt=Photograph of a group of feeding hares The European hare is primarily herbivorous and forages for wild grasses and weeds. With the intensification of agriculture, it has taken to feeding on crops when preferred foods are not available.<ref name=iucn /> During the spring and summer, it feeds on soy, clover and corn poppy<ref name="Reichlin"/> as well as grasses and herbs.<ref name=Naughton/> During autumn and winter, it primarily chooses winter wheat, and is also lured by hunters with piles of sugar beet and carrots.<ref name="Reichlin">{{cite journal |author=Reichlin, T. |author2=Klansek, E. |author3=Hackländer, K. |year=2006 |title=Diet selection by hares (''Lepus europaeus'') in arable land and its implications for habitat management |journal=European Journal of Wildlife Research |volume=52 |issue=2 |pages=109–118 |doi=10.1007/s10344-005-0013-3 |bibcode=2006EJWR...52..109R |s2cid=44207794 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225809353}}</ref> It also eats woody material from shrubs and young fruit trees during winter.<ref name=Naughton/> It avoids cereal crops when other more attractive foods are available, and appears to prefer high energy fats and proteins over dietary fiber.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Schai-Braun, S.C. |author2=Reichlin, T. S. |author3=Ruf, T. |author4=Klansek, E. |author5=Tataruch, F. |author6=Arnold, W. |author7=Hackländer, K. |year=2015 |title=The European hare (''Lepus europaeus''): A picky herbivore searching for plant parts rich in fat |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=10 |issue=7 |article-number=e0134278 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0134278 |pmid=26230115 |pmc=4521881|bibcode=2015PLoSO..1034278S |doi-access=free}}</ref> When eating twigs, it strips off the bark to feed on the vascular tissues for their soluble carbohydrates. Compared to the European rabbit, food passes through the gut more rapidly in the European hare, although digestion rates are similar.<ref name="Stott">{{cite journal|author=Stott, P. |year=2008 |title=Comparisons of digestive function between the European hare (''Lepus europaeus'') and the European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus''): Mastication, gut passage, and digestibility |journal=Mammalian Biology – Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde |volume=73|issue=4|pages=276–286|doi=10.1016/j.mambio.2007.07.002|bibcode=2008MamBi..73..276S }}</ref> It is sometimes eats its own faeces to recover undigested proteins and vitamins.<ref name=Bock/> The consumption rate of two or three hares can equal that of a single sheep.<ref name=Naughton/>
thumb|right|Faecal pellets|alt=Photograph of fecal pellets European hares forage in groups. Group feeding is beneficial as individuals can spend more time feeding knowing that other hares are being vigilant. Nevertheless, the distribution of food affects these benefits. When food is well-spaced, all hares are able to access it. When food is more concentrated, only dominant hares can access it. In small gatherings, dominants are more successful in defending food, but as more individuals join in, they must spend more time driving off others. The larger the group, the less time dominant individuals have in which to eat. Meanwhile, the subordinates can access the food while the dominants are distracted. As such, when in groups, all individuals fare worse the more concentrated the food is.<ref name=Monaghan1985>{{cite journal |author1=Monaghan. P. |author2=Metcalfe, N. B. | year=1985 | title=Group foraging in wild brown hares: Effects of resource distribution and social status | journal=Animal Behaviour | volume=33 | issue=3 | pages=993–999 | doi=10.1016/S0003-3472(85)80033-6 |bibcode=1985AnBeh..33..993M |s2cid=53160508 }}</ref>
=== Mating and reproduction === {{multiple image |direction=vertical |align=right |image1=European Brown Hares 1.jpg |image2=Biegnące zające szaraki 20140427 2184.jpg |caption2=Fighting, and running during "March madness" |alt=Photograph of a two hares boxing (top) and a photograph of three hares running in an open field (lower)}} European hares have an extended breeding season which lasts from January to August.<ref name=Holly2001>{{cite encyclopedia | author=Holly, T. | year=2001 | title=Mad World of the European Hare | editor=MacDonald, D. | encyclopedia=The New Encyclopedia of Mammals | location=Oxford | publisher=Oxford University Press | pages=710–711 | isbn= 978-0-19-850823-6}}</ref><ref name=Lincoln1974>{{cite journal | author=Lincoln, G. |year=1974 | title=Reproduction and March madness in the brown hare, ''Lepus europaeus'' | journal=Journal of Zoology | volume=174 | issue=1 | pages=1–14 | doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1974.tb03140.x |pmid=4468894}}</ref> During this time, females, or does, are fertile while males, or bucks, are fertile outside of October and November. After a reproductive low in October, the males' testes enlarge and become more active. They gain back functionality during December, January and February. Matings start before ovulation occurs with the earliest pregnancy usually producing only single foetus, and there are numerous miscarriages. Peak reproductive activity occurs in March and April, when all females may be pregnant, the majority with three or more foetuses.<ref name=Lincoln1974/>
The mating system of the hare has been described as both polygynous (single males mating with multiple females) and promiscuous.<ref name="disperse">{{cite journal|author=Bray, Y.|author2=Devillard, S.|author3=Marboutin, E.|author4=Mauvy, B.|author5=Péroux, R.|year=2007|title=Natal dispersal of European hare in France|journal=Journal of Zoology|volume=273|issue=4|pages=426–434|doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.2007.00348.x|bibcode=2007JZoo..273..426B |url=http://sebastien.devillard.perso.sfr.fr/pdf/Brayetal2007JZool.pdf|access-date=2016-09-01|archive-date=2016-10-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006151555/http://sebastien.devillard.perso.sfr.fr/pdf/Brayetal2007JZool.pdf}}</ref> Females have six-weekly reproductive cycles and are receptive for only a few hours at a time, making competition among local bucks intense.<ref name=Holly2001/> At the height of the breeding season, this phenomenon is known as "March madness",<ref name=Lincoln1974/> when the normally nocturnal bucks are forced to be active in the daytime. In addition to dominant animals subduing subordinates, the female fights off her numerous suitors if she is not ready to mate. Fights can be vicious and can leave numerous scars on the ears.<ref name=Holly2001/> In these encounters, hares stand upright and attack each other with their paws, a practice known as "boxing", and this activity is often between a female and a male and not between competing males as was previously believed.<ref name=Naughton/><ref>{{cite journal | last1=Holley | first1=A.J.F. | last2=Greenwood | first2=P.J. | year=1984 | title=The myth of the mad March hare | journal=Nature | volume=309 | issue=5968 | pages=549–550 | doi=10.1038/309549a0 | pmid=6539424 | bibcode=1984Natur.309..549H | s2cid=4275486 }}</ref> When the time is right, the doe runs across the countryside, starting a chase that tests the stamina of the following males. She stops to mate only when one male remains.<ref name=Holly2001/> Female fertility lasts through May, June and July, but testosterone production decreases in males and sexual behaviour becomes less noticeable. Litter sizes decrease as the breeding season draws to a close with no females are pregnant after August. The testes of males reduce in size at this time and by next month sperm production ends.<ref name=Lincoln1974/>
thumb|Newborn leverets in a depression|alt=Photograph of newborn hares Does give birth in depressions which they dug in the ground. An individual female may have two to four litters in a year after a six week gestation period. One litter can consist of up to ten young or leverets, which have an average weight of around {{convert|130|g}} at birth. They and are fully furred and are precocial, being ready to leave the nest soon after they are born, an adaptation to the lack of physical protection relative to that afforded by a burrow.<ref name=Naughton/><ref name="Kurta"/><ref name=Bock/> Leverets disperse during the day and come together in the evening close to where they were born. Their mother visits them for nursing soon after sunset; the young suckle for around five minutes, urinating while they do so, with the doe licking up the fluid. She then leaps away so as not to leave an olfactory trail, and the leverets go their separate ways once more.<ref name=Naughton/><ref>{{cite journal |author=Broekhuizen, S. |author2=Maaskamp, F.|year=1980|title=Behaviour of does and leverets of the European hare (''Lepus europaeus'') while nursing|journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=191 |issue=4 |pages=487–501 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1980.tb01480.x}}</ref> Young can eat solid food after two weeks and are weaned at three or four weeks old.<ref name=Naughton/> While young of either sex commonly explore their surroundings,<ref>{{cite journal |author=Avril, A. |author2=Letty, J. |author3=Léonard, Y. |author4=Pontier, D. |year=2014 |title=Exploration forays in juvenile European hares (''Lepus europaeus''): dispersal preludes or hunting-induced troubles?|journal=BMC Ecology|volume=14 |issue=1 |page=16 |doi=10.1186/1472-6785-14-6|pmid=24568541 |pmc=3943402 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2014BMCE...14....6A }}</ref> natal dispersal tends to be greater in males.<ref name="disperse"/><ref>{{cite journal |author=Avril, A.|author2=Letty, J.|author3=Léonard, Y.|author4=Pérouxb, R.|author5=Guitton, J.-S.|author6=Pontier, D. |name-list-style=amp |year=2011|title=Natal dispersal of European hare in a high-density population |journal=Mammalian Biology – Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde |volume=76 |issue=2 |pages=148–156 |doi=10.1016/j.mambio.2010.07.001|bibcode=2011MamBi..76..148A |url=https://hal-univ-lyon1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02303164/file/avril2011.pdf }}</ref> Sexual maturity occurs in 4–8 months.<ref name=Bock/>
{{clear|left}}
=== Health and mortality === [[File:Aquila chrysaetos 1 (Martin Mecnarowski).jpg|thumb|right|Golden eagle with a freshly caught hare|alt=Photograph of a golden eagle with a hare as its prey]] European hares are preyed on by red foxes, cats, mustelids and birds of prey.<ref name=Bock/> In Poland it was found that predation by foxes peaks during spring, when the availability of small animal prey was low; at this time of year, hares may constitute up to 50% of the biomass in a fox's diet, with 50% of the mortality of adult hares being caused by predation.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Goszczyński, J. |author2=Wasilewski, M. |year=1992 |title=Predation of foxes on a hare population in central Poland |journal=Acta Theriologica |volume=37 |issue=4 |pages=329–338 |issn=0001-7051 |url= http://rcin.org.pl/Content/11806|doi=10.4098/at.arch.92-33|doi-access=free }}</ref> In Scandinavia a natural epizootic of sarcoptic mange, which reduced the population of red foxes dramatically, resulted in an increase in the number of European hares, which returned to previous levels when the numbers of foxes subsequently increased.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Lindstrom, Eric R. |author2=Andren, Henrik |author3=Angelstam, Per |author4=Cederlund, Goran |author5=Hornfeldt, Birger |author6=Jaderberg, Lars |author7=Lemnell, Per-Arne |author8=Martinsson, Berit |author9=Skold, Kent |author10=Swenson, John E.|year=1992 |title=Disease reveals the predator: sarcoptic mange, red fox predation and prey populations |journal=Ecology |volume=75 |issue=4 |pages=1042–1049 |doi= 10.2307/1939428|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229192473 |jstor=1939428 }}</ref> Birds as large as goshawks and sparrowhawks can kill adults whilst crows and ravens are mainly threats to young.<ref name=Bock/> The golden eagle preys on the European hare in the Alps, the Carpathians, the Apennines and northern Spain.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Watson, Jeff|author2=Brockie, Keith|title=The Golden Eagle|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E1DCAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA50 |year=1997 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=978-0-85661-099-8 |page=50}}</ref> In North America foxes and coyotes prey on them and, to a lesser extent, bobcats and Canada lynxes.<ref name="Kurta">{{cite book|author=Kurta, Allen |title=Mammals of the Great Lakes Region|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DAb8Su5nVUsC&pg=PA104 |year=1995 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=978-0-472-06497-7 |page=104}}</ref>
European hares have both external and internal parasites. One study found that 54% of animals in Slovakia were parasitised by nematodes and more than 90% by coccidia.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Dubinský, P. |author2=Vasilková, Z. |author3=Hurníková, Z. |author4=Miterpáková, M. |author5=Slamečka, J. |author6=Jurčík, R. |year=2010 |title=Parasitic infections of the European brown hare (''Lepus europaeus'' Pallas, 1778) in south-western Slovakia |journal=Helminthologia |volume=47 |issue=4 |pages=219–225 |doi=10.2478/s11687-010-0034-7 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In Australia, internal parasites include four species of nematode, six of coccidian, several liver flukes and two canine tapeworms. They were also found to host rabbit fleas (''Spilopsyllus cuniculi''), stickfast fleas (''Echidnophaga myrmecobii''), lice (''Haemodipsus setoni'' and ''H. lyriocephalus''), and mites (''Leporacarus gibbus'').<ref name=Victoria>{{cite web |url=http://agriculture.vic.gov.au/agriculture/pests-diseases-and-weeds/pest-animals/a-z-of-pest-animals/european-hare |title=European hare |work=Agriculture: Pest animals |publisher=Agriculture Victoria |access-date=7 September 2016 |archive-date=2 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802215045/http://agriculture.vic.gov.au/agriculture/pests-diseases-and-weeds/pest-animals/a-z-of-pest-animals/european-hare }}</ref>
European brown hare syndrome (EBHS) is a disease caused by a calicivirus similar to that causing rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD) in European rabbit, but the two species appear to be mutually immune to the other's virus.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Alves, Paulo C. |author2=Ferrand, Nuno |author3=Hackländer, Klaus |title=Lagomorph Biology: Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9d8_AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA263 |year= 2007 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-3-540-72446-9 |page=263}}</ref> Other threats to the hare are pasteurellosis, yersiniosis (pseudo-tuberculosis), coccidiosis and tularaemia, which are the principal sources of mortality.<ref name=Lamarque1996>{{cite journal |author1=Lamarque, F. |author2=Barrat, J. |author3=Moutou, F. | year=1996 | title=Principal diagnoses for determining causes of mortality in the European brown hare (''Lepus europaeus'') found dead in France between 1986 and 1994 | journal=Gibier Faune Sauvage | volume=13 | issue=1 | pages=53–72 }}</ref>
In October 2018, it was reported that a mutated form of the rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV2) may have infected hares in the UK. Normally rare in hares, a significant die-off from the virus has also occurred in Spain.<ref name=FAQ>{{cite news|author=Yohannes Lowe|date=11 October 2018|title=Hares could be wiped out, experts warn, as mystery deaths spark fears RHD-2 has 'jumped' from rabbits|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/10/11/hares-dying-mysteriously-amid-fears-myxomatosis-has-jumped-rabbits/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/10/11/hares-dying-mysteriously-amid-fears-myxomatosis-has-jumped-rabbits/ |archive-date=2022-01-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|work=The Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=New Scientist|date=20 October 2018|page=4|title=Concern over hare deaths}}</ref>
== Relationship with humans == [[File:Albrecht Dürer - Hare, 1502 - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|left|Albrecht Dürer's watercolour ''Young Hare'', 1502|alt=Painting of a hare by Albrecht Dürer]]
=== In folklore, literature, and art === In Europe, the hare has been a symbol of sex and fertility since at least ancient Greece. The Greeks associated it with the gods Dionysus, Aphrodite and Artemis as well as with satyrs and cupids. The Christian Church connected the hare with lustfulness and homosexuality, but also associated it with the persecution of the church because of the way it was commonly hunted.<ref name="Carnwell"/>
In Northern Europe, Easter imagery often involves hares or rabbits. Citing folk Easter customs in Leicestershire, England, where "the profits of the land called Harecrop Leys were applied to providing a meal which was thrown on the ground at the 'Hare-pie Bank'", the 19th-century scholar Charles Isaac Elton proposed a possible connection between these customs and the worship of Ēostre.<ref>{{cite book |author=Elton, Charles Isaac |author-link=Charles Isaac Elton |title=Origins of English History |date=1882 |page=391 |url=https://archive.org/stream/originsofenglis00elto#page/390/mode/2up/search/harecrop|publisher=London : B. Quaritch }}</ref> In his 19th-century study of the hare in folk custom and mythology, Charles J. Billson cites folk customs involving the hare around Easter in Northern Europe, and argues that the hare was probably a sacred animal in prehistoric Britain's festival of springtime.<ref>Billson, Charles J. (1892). "The Easter Hare" as published in ''Folk-Lore'', Vol. 3, No. 4 (December 1892). Taylor & Francis, on behalf of Folklore Enterprises. p. 448.</ref> Observation of the hare's springtime mating behaviour led to the popular English idiom "mad as a March hare",<ref name="Carnwell">{{cite book |author=Carnwell, S. |year=2010 |title=Hare |publisher=Reaktion Books |pages=60, 67–69, 181, 189 |isbn=978-1-86189-431-1}}</ref> with similar phrases from the sixteenth century writings of John Skelton and Sir Thomas More onwards.<ref>{{cite web |title=Early English Books Online |publisher=Text Creation Partnership |url=http://www.lib.umich.edu/tcp/eebo/proj_des/pd_more.html |access-date=11 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070208224854/http://www.lib.umich.edu/tcp/eebo/proj_des/pd_more.html |archive-date=8 February 2007}}</ref> In ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' by Lewis Carroll, March Hare appears in a tea-party with the Hatter.<ref name="Carnwell"/>
[[File:Alice par John Tenniel 25.png|thumb|right|Sir John Tenniel's March Hare with Alice, the Dormouse, and the Hatter from ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'', 1865|alt=Illustration of the March Hare by Sir John Tenniel]]
Any connection of the hare to Ēostre is doubtful. John Andrew Boyle cites an etymology dictionary by Alfred Ernout and Antoine Meillet, who wrote that the lights of Ēostre were carried by hares, that Ēostre represented spring fecundity, love and sexual pleasure. Boyle responds that almost nothing is known about Ēostre, and that the authors had seemingly accepted the identification of Ēostre with the Norse goddess Freyja, but that the hare is not associated with Freyja either. Boyle adds that "when the authors speak of the hare as the 'companion of Aphrodite and of satyrs and cupids' and 'in the Middle Ages [the hare] appears beside the figure of [mythological] Luxuria', they are on much surer ground."<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Boyle, J. A. |year=1974 |title=The Hare in Myth and Reality: A Review Article |journal=Folklore |volume=84 |issue=4 |pages=323–324 |url=}}</ref>
The story was annexed to a philosophical problem by Zeno of Elea, who created a set of paradoxes to support Parmenides' attack on the idea of continuous motion, as each time the hare (or the hero Achilles) moves to where the tortoise was, the tortoise moves just a little further away.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/paradox-zeno/#AchTor |title=Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy |publisher=Plato.stanford.edu |access-date=10 September 2016}}</ref><ref name="Wilson2015">{{cite book |last=Wilson |first=C. |title=Leibniz's Metaphysics: A Historical and Comparative Study |year=2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1lDWCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA204 |isbn=978-1-4008-7957-1 |page=204}}</ref> The German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer realistically depicted a hare in his 1502 watercolour painting ''Young Hare''.<ref>{{cite book |author=Trux, E. M. |contribution=Überlegungen zum Feldhasen und anderen Tierstudien Dürers mit einer Datierungsdiskussion |editor1=Schröder, K. A. |editor2=Sternath, M. L. |title=Albrecht Dürer |publisher=Hatje Cantz Verlag |pages=45–55| isbn=978-3-7757-1330-6 |year=2003}}</ref> The name for juvenile hares, ''leveret'', is first attested to in the 1500s,<ref>{{Cite OED|term=Leveret|id=39378611|access-date=6 April 2026}}</ref> while the name for female hares, ''doe'', originated later in the 17th century.<ref>{{Cite OED|term=Doe|id=6361172|access-date=6 April 2026}}</ref>
{{clear|left}}
=== Food and hunting === [[File:Ansdell Caledonian Coursing detail 2.jpg|thumb|Detail of ''The Caledonian Coursing Meeting near the Castle of Ardrossan, the Isle of Arran in the Distance'' by Richard Ansdell, 1844, showing gentlemen on horseback hunting hares with greyhounds|alt=Painting of gentlemen hunting hares by Richard Ansdell]]
Across Europe, over five million European hares are taken by hunters, making it probably the most important game mammal on the continent. This popularity has threatened regional varieties such as those of France and Denmark, through large-scale importing of hares from Eastern European countries such as Hungary.<ref name=ChapmanIUCN/> Hares have traditionally been hunted in Britain by beagling and hare coursing. In beagling, the hare is tracked by a party of small hunting dogs, beagles, followed by the human hunters on foot. In Britain, the 2004 Hunting Act banned hunting of hares with dogs, so the 60 beagle packs now use artificial "trails", or may hunt rabbits instead.<ref>{{cite web |title=An Introduction to Beagling |url=http://www.amhb.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=173&Itemid=61 |publisher=Association of Masters of Harriers and Beagles |access-date=31 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817155721/http://www.amhb.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=173&Itemid=61 |archive-date=17 August 2016 }}</ref> Hare coursing with greyhounds was once an aristocratic pursuit, forbidden to lower social classes.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PVQCAAAAYAAJ&q=greyhounds+forbidden&pg=PA5 |title=The greyhound |journal=New Sporting Magazine |volume=4 |date=November 1832 – April 1833|access-date=2008-02-21|page=5|publisher=Baldwin & Cradock}}</ref> More recently, informal hare coursing became a lower class activity and was conducted without the landowner's permission;<ref>{{cite news |work=Lincolnshire Echo |title=Crackdown on hare coursing gangs |date=30 January 2008}}</ref> it is also now illegal.<ref name="Bawden">{{cite news |author=Bawden, T.|title=Increase in hare coursing blamed on closure of special police unit|date=23 December 2015 |publisher=The Independent (The i)}}</ref> Despite its illegality, hare coursing continues, often causing damage to agricultural land where hunters trespass into farms in pursuit of a hare.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gordon-Farleigh |first=Neve |date=2025-04-21 |title=What is hare coursing and what impact does it have? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cyv4zpgj36go |access-date=2025-12-23 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}}</ref> In Scotland concerns have been raised over the rise in numbers of hares shot under license.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Edwards |first1=Rob |title=Licensed to kill: the landowners who shoot thousands of brown hares |url=https://theferret.scot/brown-hares-landowners-farmers-licensed-kill/ |publisher=The Ferret |access-date=3 June 2019 |date=2 June 2019}}</ref>
Hare is traditionally cooked by jugging: a whole hare is cut into pieces, marinated and cooked slowly with red wine and juniper berries in a tall jug that stands in a pan of water. It is traditionally served with (or briefly cooked with) the hare's blood and port wine.<ref name=Guardian1>{{cite news |title=Chips are down for Britain's old culinary classics |work=The Guardian |date=25 July 2006 |page=6}}</ref><ref name=Davidson>{{cite book |last1=Davidson |first1=Alan |title=The Oxford Companion to Food |date=2014 |edition=3rd |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-967733-7 |pages=380–381}}</ref> Hare can also be cooked in a casserole.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Warner |first1=Valentine |title=Valentine Warner's good hare recipe |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/recipes/10711095/Jose-Pizarros-kid-stew-recipe.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/recipes/10711095/Jose-Pizarros-kid-stew-recipe.html |archive-date=2022-01-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |publisher=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=31 August 2016 |date=21 March 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The meat is darker and more strongly flavoured than that of rabbits. Young hares can be roasted; the meat of older hares becomes too tough for roasting, and may be slow-cooked.<ref name=Davidson/><ref>{{cite web|last1=Fearnley-Whittingstall |first1=H. |author-link1=Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall |title=Recipes using hare |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/hare |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=31 August 2016}}</ref>
== Status == thumb|left|Hare on cultivated ground. The intensification of agricultural practices has caused a decline in their populations.|alt=Photograph of a hare on farmland The International Union for Conservation of Nature has evaluated the European hare's conservation status as being of least concern.<ref name=iucn /> However, declines in populations in populations of the species have been noted in many areas since the 1960s. These have been associated with the intensification of agricultural practices, climate change and an increase in predators.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Smith, R. K. |author2=Jennings, N. V. |author3=Harris, S. |name-list-style=amp |year=2005 |title=A quantitative analysis of the abundance and demography of European hares ''Lepus europaeus'' in relation to habitat type, intensity of agriculture and climate |journal=Mammal Review |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=1–24 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2907.2005.00057.x|bibcode=2005MamRv..35....1S |url=https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1599780 }}</ref> Agriculture has created less diverse habitats which the hare prefers. The species has benefited from the establishment of green zones with a more diverse food sources.<ref name=Bock/> In France, Spain, and in Greece, the restocking by hares brought from outside the region has been identified as a threat to regional gene pools. To counteract this, Spain started a captive breeding program, and the relocation of some individuals from one location to another has increased genetic variety.<ref name=iucn /> The Bern Convention lists the hare under Appendix III as a protected species.<ref name=Vaughan2003/> Several countries, including Norway, Germany, Austria and Switzerland,<ref name=iucn /> have placed the species on their Red Lists as "near threatened" or "threatened".<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Reichlin, T. |author2=Klansek, E. |author3=Hackländer, K. |name-list-style=amp |year=2006 |title=Diet selection by hares (''Lepus europaeus'') in arable land and its implications for habitat management |journal=European Journal of Wildlife Research |volume=52 |issue=2 |pages=109–118 |doi=10.1007/s10344-005-0013-3 |bibcode=2006EJWR...52..109R |s2cid=44207794|url=https://boris.unibe.ch/22548/ |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
{{clear|left}}
== References == {{Sfn whitelist|CITEREFHackländerSchai-Braun2018}}{{Reflist}}
== External links == * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080416221654/http://www.arkive.org/species/ARK/mammals/Lepus_europaeus/ ARKive] Photographs Videos * [https://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/nature/sites/species/mammals/hares.shtml BBC Wales Nature: Brown hare article] * {{Xeno-canto species|Lepus|europaeus}} {{Lagomorpha|L.}} {{English Game}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q26838}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Hares Hare, European Hare, European Category:Introduced mammals of Australia Category:Mammals of New Zealand Category:Mammals of Grenada Category:Mammals of Barbados Category:Mammals of Guadeloupe Category:Mammals of the Caribbean Category:Fauna of the Falkland Islands Category:Least concern biota of Asia Category:Least concern biota of Europe Category:Mammals described in 1778 Category:Taxa named by Peter Simon Pallas