wish to avoid. When leaving its ‘ form I the Hare often does so with one big
leap as wide as fifteen feet.1
The usual pace when undisturbed is an easy loping canter ; in such
movements the head and ears are held as high as possible, and the tail ‘ drags’
or hangs loosely behind the animal. When alarmed the head is sunk into the
shoulders and the ears laid back while the tail is bent forwards over the rump
and the full white under parts exposed. The position of the tail in this case
is often disastrous to the animal, since it makes it at once conspicuous to man
or dog.
During the courting season in February and March, Hares are seen about at
all hours of the day. It is a common sight to see one or more bucks slowly
pursuing in tireless circles the coy female, or sitting and staring stupidly at one
another. ‘ Mad as a March Hare ’ is an old proverb that owes its origin to the
aimless meanderings of these lovesick creatures, and if we watch them in their
amorous play we realise that the simile is not inept. Like rabbits, Hares never
truly pair, although pairs may constantly be seen together. A strong buck consorts
with a doe for a time and then leaves her to look for another mate. The bucks
fight savagely at times, and can deliver severe blows with their hind legs. They
also drum on each other with their fore feet and sometimes bite. Mr. Drane
says, ‘ I once saw two Hares manoeuvring, when one jumped over the other, so
striking it with its hind feet as to disable it. The striking Hare instantly turned
round, sat up, and drummed on its antagonist’s body with its fore feet. During
the battle there was no sound but that of the blows. My curiosity induced me
to intervene. I picked up the vanquished Hare— it was dead.’
Hares breed nearly the whole year round in mild seasons, and there is not a
month in the year in which young leverets have not been found. The usual
pairing time is February and March in England, and March and April in
Scotland. The female begins to breed when ten months or a year old, and the
gestation is said to be thirty days,2 but of this I am not quite certain, as I can
find no one who has actually bred the animal in confinement. A curious fact is
that the ovaries are capable of superfcetation ; on many occasions unborn young of
different ages have been discovered. The female generally produces from three to
five young ones. The Rev. E. A. Woodruffe-Peacock states definitely that it is
five,8 but there is not the least doubt that litters of two, three, and four are quite
1 Loudon's Mag. 1829, p. 219.
s Mr. T. Speedy thinks that it is about six weeks. Field, September 13, 1902, p. 493.
* He says ‘ Every foetal Hare I have opened has held five young ones.’ The Cultivation o f the Common Hare, p. 7 ; and
common in the south of England, while as many as six, seven, and eight have
been recorded.1 This disparity in the number of young may be accounted for by
the fact that in Lincolnshire Hares have a habitat that is entirely suitable to them
in every way, whereas in southern counties the animals are not so fine nor do
they have such natural advantages. We have similar evidence of this in certain
breeds of sheep. Mr. Mansell Pleydell states that in Dorset three leverets is the
usual number and five is very rare. Leverets are fully furred and are able to see
and move about soon after birth. In spite of her proverbial shyness the mother
Hare often deposits her young in gardens where men are constantly working.
Soon after the production of her young the Hare moves her family about, and
will place the various individuals in different forms, visiting each at night at
different times. It may be that this habit of scattering her progeny in ones and
twos has led to the belief that she usually possesses only one or two young
ones. The Rev. E. A. Woodruffe-Peacock says:
This regular dispersal of their young into suckling forms soon after birth is
performed at night, and very rarely witnessed. I have never seen it, but was
informed that “ they are carried as a cat does her kittens.” It has led to the
almost universal belief that Hares have only one or, at most, two leverets at a birth.
I f this were the case, where mustelines are common Hares would soon be extinct.’
During the period of lactation the leverets keep close to their hiding places
and do not leave them until they are able to nibble vegetable food. As soon as
leverets are able to feed properly the mother will not allow them to suck, and is
said to drive them off her regular beat.
The first accurate account of the breeding habits of Hares was written by
T. F. Dovaston. The results of his experience with certain Hares enclosed in a
piece of grass land near his house were as follows. He found by close observation
that the number of young was almost always fiv e. The mother in every instance
took her progeny one by one and deposited them in separate places in the paddock,
subsequently visiting each in turn to suckle it. On the whole it must be concluded
that the Hare is far more prolific than it is supposed to be.
The Rev. E. A. Woodruffe-Peacock has closely studied Hares, and makes some
again he gives an instance: ‘ In a paddock of eight to ten acres we had three forms or seats, which, judging from their size,
were evidently in the possession of young females. In late January a fourth Hare joined them, and remained for some time.
He was evidently a buck, and much older and heavier, though about the same size. The male Hare, as a rule, is smaiw
than the doe. Hares live normally about twelve years. During the period he remained in the paddock I watched the ways
o the four animals as continuously as possible. The buck changed his form twice while consorting with his companions.
The result was five young in every case, but that was not the only interesting circumstance.’
1 Field, September 6, 1902, p. 453 ; D aily M ail, May 1 1906.