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Brown hares came to Britain during or slightly earlier than Roman
times. (Laurie Campbell) |
The brown hare’s origins in the British countryside are obscure, but palaeontology suggests that it was not in our native fauna at the end of the ice age while the land bridge to the continent was connected. At that time our hares were mountain hares, a species now largely confined to the highlands of Scotland. The brown hare did not appear until the Roman times or perhaps a little earlier (2000 years ago)1 by which time much of the lowlands were already being farmed. It is even possible that the Romans introduced hares, for sport-coursing was a popular form of hare hunting in Roman Gaul at this time.
Hares like the open country, and in western Europe arable farmland is their natural habitat. Originally they evolved on the grassland steppe of central Asia and spread west as early Neolithic man cleared the primeval deciduous forest.
Hares are mainly nocturnal animals moving over wide areas to graze on young grasses, cereals and herbs2. They feed at night and mainly rest during the day while they digest the previous night’s forage.
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| The ecology of hares on open farmland. Three hares on a Hampshire farm showing the core areas of their home ranges (red line) and some typical daily movements between day-time resting areas (solid red circles) and night-time grazing area (open red circles)5. The dark green habitat represents woodland and other colours arable and grass fields. Hares often use nearby woodland for day-time shelter in winter. |
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| Mountain hares are smaller than brown hares, have grey fur which goes white in winter and have shorter legs and ears. Mountain hares inhabit the heather moors of Scotland and there is a small population in the English Peak District. (Laurie Campbell) |
Living in the open, hares are potentially exposed to predators like foxes. To protect themselves they depend on cryptic colouration and remaining still - often in shallow depressions (or ‘forms’) in the ground. Hares have huge eyes and ears and can usually detect predators long before they are seen themselves. Hares rely on running fast to put distance between themselves and danger.
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| A brown hare in its shallow form has most of its body concealed below ground level. Hares can be completely inconspicuous in the shortest of arable crops when they are dug into their forms in this way. |
