{{Short description|Species of mammal}} {{Multiple issues| {{Expand Romanian|topic=scitech|Iepure african|date=May 2022}} {{More citations needed|date=November 2019}} }} {{Speciesbox | image = Lepus capensis (cropped).jpg | name = Cape hare | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |author=Johnston, C.H. |author2=Robinson, T.J. |author3=Child, M.F. |author4=Relton, C. |date=2019 |title=''Lepus capensis'' |volume=2019 |article-number=e.T41277A45186750 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T41277A45186750.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref> | genus = Lepus | species = capensis | authority = Linnaeus, 1758 | range_map = Cape_Hare_area.png | range_map_caption = Geographic range }}
The '''Cape hare''' ('''''Lepus capensis'''''), also called the '''brown hare''' and the '''desert hare''', is a hare native to Africa and Arabia extending into India.<ref name=iucn/>
==Taxonomy== The Cape hare was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 with the binomial name ''Lepus capensis'', published in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae.<ref>{{cite book |last=Linnaeus |first=C. |author-link=Carl Linnaeus |title=Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis |publisher=Laurentii Salvii |location=Holmiae |volume=I |edition= 10th revised |language=la |year=1758 |page=58 |chapter=''Lepus capensis'' |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/carolilinnaeisy00gesegoog/page/n67/mode/1up}}</ref>
The Cape hare is part of a species complex. ''Lepus tolai'' and ''Lepus tibetanus'' were moved out based on geographic distribution and molecular characteristics. The current remaining grouping of ''Lepus capensis sensu lato'' remains paraphyletic.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lado |first1=S. |last2=Alves |first2=P.C. |last3=Islam |first3=M.Z. |last4=Brito |first4=J.C. |last5=Melo-Ferreira |first5=J. |title=The evolutionary history of the Cape hare (''Lepus capensis'' sensu lato): insights for systematics and biogeography |journal=Heredity |date=2019 |volume=123 |issue=5 |pages=634–646 |doi=10.1038/s41437-019-0229-8 |pmid=31073237 |pmc=6972951 |bibcode=2019Hered.123..634L}}</ref>
As of 2005, 12 subspecies were recognised:<ref name=msw3>{{MSW3 Hoffmann |pages=196–197 |id=13500139}}</ref> * ''Lepus capensis capensis'' * ''Lepus capensis aquilo'' * ''Lepus capensis carpi'' * ''Lepus capensis granti'' * ''Lepus capensis aegyptius'' * ''Lepus capensis hawkeri'' * ''Lepus capensis isabellinus'' * ''Lepus capensis sinaiticus'' * ''Lepus capensis arabicus'' * ''Lepus capensis atlanticus'' * ''Lepus capensis whitakeri'' * ''Lepus capensis schlumbergi''
==Description== The Cape hare is a typical hare, with well-developed legs for leaping and running, and large eyes and ears to look for threats from its environment. Usually, a white ring surrounds the eye. It has a fine, soft coat which varies in colour from light brown to reddish to sandy grey. Unusually among mammals, the female is larger than the male, an example of sexual dimorphism.{{cn|date=May 2026}}
==Distribution and habitat== The Cape hare inhabits macchia-type vegetation, grassland, bushveld, the Sahara Desert and semi-desert areas. It is also common in parts of the Ethiopian Highlands, such as Degua Tembien.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Aerts |first1=R. |chapter=Forest and woodland vegetation in the highlands of Dogu'a Tembien |editor1=Nyssen J. |editor2=Jacob, M. |editor3=Frankl, A. |title=Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains: The Dogu'a Tembien District |date=2019 |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-030-04954-6}}</ref>
== Behavior and ecology == [[File:Kushki & rubit.jpg|right|thumb|A Cape hare caught by an Asiatic cheetah in Miandasht Wildlife Refuge, Iran.]] The Cape hare is a nocturnal herbivore, feeding on grass and various shrubs. Coprophagy, the consumption of an organism's own fecal material to double the amount of time food spends in the digestive tract, is a common behaviour amongst rabbits and hares. This habit allows the animal to extract the maximum nourishment from its diet, and microbes present in the pellets also provide nutrients.{{cn|date=May 2026}}
After a 42-day-long pregnancy, the female gives birth to from one to three young, termed leverets, per litter and may have as many as 4 litters per year. A characteristic of hares which differentiates them from rabbits is that the young are born precocial; that is, the young are born with eyes open and are able to move about shortly after birth.{{cn|date=May 2026}}
One Cape hare kept in captivity lived to nearly 9 years, but their longevity in the wild is uncertain.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cape hare (''Lepus capensis'') longevity, ageing, and life history |url=https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Lepus_capensis |access-date=2025-09-15 |website=AnAge: the Animal Ageing and Longevity Database}}</ref>
==In culture== {{Infobox hieroglyphs ||title=Cape hare |name = <hiero>wn</hiero> |name transcription = ''wn'' |name explanation ="Cape/desert hare" in Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs}} An example of an ancient Egyptian mummified ''Lepus capensis'' has been recorded in a tomb near Dendera.<ref name=Gautier>{{cite journal |last1=Gautier |first1=A. |date=2005 |title=Animal mummies and remains from the necropolis of Elkab (Upper Egypt) |url=https://revistas.uam.es/archaeofauna/article/view/7441 |journal=Archaeofauna |volume=14 |pages=139–170}}</ref> The Egyptian god Unut was a cape hare.{{cn|date=May 2026}}
==References== {{Reflist}} {{Commons category|Lepus capensis}}
{{Lagomorpha|L.}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q748185}}
Category:Hares Category:Mammals of Africa Category:Mammals of West Asia Category:Fauna of East Africa Category:Mammals of North Africa Category:Mammals of Southern Africa Category:Fauna of the Sahara Category:Fauna of Egypt Category:Fauna of Iran Category:Mammals of Pakistan Category:Mammals of the Arabian Peninsula Category:Mammals described in 1758 Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus