Features of the hare hare
Hare hare, or in lat. Lepus europaeus, is a hare-like mammal belonging to its large representatives.
Hare
External signs
A hare in the hare family can be recognized by its large size. In length, it often grows to 65-68 centimeters, and gains weight from 4 to 6 kilograms. The largest individuals, reaching a mass of up to 7 kilograms, are found in the northern and northeastern areas of its habitat.
The description of the animal includes its main features of the external signs of the species:
- regardless of its large size, its constitution is fragile,
- the hare differs from white hares in longer (up to 14 centimeters) ears and a larger (7-14 centimeters) tail in the form of a wedge, covered with black fur on top,
- The hind legs of the hare differ from those of the hare - the foot is shorter than that of the hare, which is explained by the habitat of hare, where the snow covers are shallow and with a hard crust.
The hare's coat is shiny, with curls, is painted white on the belly, the shade is darker on the sides than on the dorsal region. External classification is clearly visible in the photo. The color of the animal depends on the season:
- during the summer, the hare is painted in shades of ocher - gray, brown, red or brown, with dark streaks, folded ends of the undercoat,
- in winter, the animal changes the color of its fur to a lighter color, but, unlike the white hare, it is never white, their head and ears are at the ends, and the front part of the back is always dark.
With the onset of spring and autumn, the hares of hares undergo a seasonal molt. At the same time, the spring fur change is delayed by 75-80 days, starting closer to the end of March and ending in May, and runs from the head to the tail section. Wool that has grown over the summer with the onset of autumn from September changes to thicker winter fur, but unlike spring, already in the opposite direction - from the hip through the ridge in the direction of the front.
Habitat geography
The main habitat of the hare is the steppe, tundra thickets and forest-steppe. It can be found in the European steppe massifs, on the North African continent and in Asia.
The northern border of the hare's habitat passes through the Irish and Scottish territories, in the area of Sweden and Finland. The southern border covers Turkey and Iran, the northern part of Arabia and Africa, the Transcaucasian region and the north of Kazakhstan.
On the territory of North America, the hare was settled artificially, having brought it in 1893 through New York. In 1912, they tried to settle him in the Canadian province of Ontario. Having acclimatized in Australia and New Zealand, it was included in the list of animal pests.
In Russia, this species can be seen throughout European territory, they live up to the Ladoga northern shores and Lake Onega, they live along the Northern Dvina River. The border of the animal's residence passes through the Kirov and Perm regions, capturing the areas of the Ural Mountains, then through the Caspian Sea region and in the north to Karaganda. There are settlements of Rusks in Southern Siberia and the Far East.Attempts by scientists to acclimatize the hare on the squares of Buryatia ended in failure.
It happens that in the summer, hare rises to mountain heights from 1.5 to 2.0 kilometers, descending from the heights only at the onset of winter.
European hares prefer open areas for movement and life in the form of fields and meadows, meadows and large clearings. In deep coniferous forests, the animal lives extremely rarely, to a greater extent live in deciduous forests and woodlands.
In forest-steppes and steppes, hares choose agricultural crops of grain, copses and shrubs. Very often, animals tend to move closer to settlements and natural bodies of water.
The number of hares today is about several million. Their lifespan and the number of individuals are influenced primarily by weather and food factors. For many individuals, the snowy winter seasons with blizzards, which prevent the animals from feeding, become destructive. Springs with alternating heat and frost, during which the early appeared broods perish, also have an unfavorable effect on the population of the hare. Among the natural enemies - hunters for hares - wolves, foxes and lynxes.
Habits and role in human life
Hare habits
The habits of the hare characterize them as sedentary animals living in a certain territory. They prefer not to leave the inhabited area if there is a sufficient amount of feed in this place. In other regions, hares in search of food move every day, overcoming tens of kilometers. Sometimes seasonal migrations are observed towards settlements and less snowy ones to the forest edges.
The activity of the hares begins at dusk and at night, moreover, in the first part of the night and just before the onset of the morning. During the day they can be activated only during the rut (mating).
In the summer, the laying of hare looks like a shallow hole, hidden from prying eyes under a bush. At the same time, hares do not line up permanent minks. For rest, they dig in temporary huts - daytime burrows that save animals from the annoying heat. As a place of rest, hares can use other people's burrows - badgers or foxes.
Hare hares run faster than white hares, reaching speeds of up to 60 kilometers per hour, while tracking with long jumps confusing tracks. They are good swimmers. The voice of the hare cannot be heard only in danger of being caught or wounded, animals can make shrill sounds.
The female hare calls on the hares with a quiet cry, and the male, when alarmed, only makes sounds with clicking teeth. As communication with each other, they often use the rattling of their paws, the sound of which resembles playing a drum.
In spring, the hares lie on high surfaces warmed by the sun, and in winter, hares move to the deep snow of a burrow of burrows up to two meters long. Often, in the fall, animals do laying in haystacks.
Rusaks for man
Under natural conditions, the hare lives for 6-7 years, in rare exceptions, the life expectancy can be up to 12 years. It belongs to game animals and serves as an object of hunting with hounds and sports, being valuable for fur and meat. The skins of the hare are used for high-quality felt and for sewing some types of fur products.
In many countries, these animals are classified as agricultural pests, since hares can harm winter crops, harm fruit trees, gnawing up to 15 plantings per night.
In addition to the harm to agriculture, the hare are among the animals that carry serious diseases, such as coccidiosis, pastelerresis, tularemia, and brucellosis.
Feed ration and reproduction
Among the main food for hares in summer are vegetation and tree shoots. Animals prefer foliage and stems, but can sometimes feast on the roots of shrubs. With the onset of summer, hares switch to seeds.
In summer, the food ration becomes much richer and includes wild dandelions and tansy, alfalfa and clover, as well as cultivated buckwheat, cereals and sunflowers. Among the delicacies for the Russians are vegetables and melons.
Not all seeds are completely digested by animal organisms, thus, hares act as distributors of seeds along the trajectory of their movement.
The basis of food in winter is made up of the same seeds and grass rags, the remaining garden crops that hares begin to look for and extract from under the layer of snow. In addition, in winter, the animals feed on apple, maple and pear wood, gnaw on willow and aspen.
The breeding period of the hare is directly dependent on their habitat.
During the breeding season from March to September, Western European hares manage to bring 4 hereditary broods, some even five. In a more favorable climate, hares breed throughout the entire calendar year.
On Russian territory, the hare rut lasts from February to March, then from April to May, and the third in June.
Pregnancy in female hare lasts 45 days, the brood can count from 1 to 9 hares. Such a difference in the number of offspring is associated with reproductive ability - the fewer reproduction cycles, the more the female brings in rabbits.
European hares are born sighted and with fur.
The weight of an average newborn hare is 80-150 grams. By the fifth day of life, the rabbits begin to move actively, at the age of two weeks they gain weight up to 400 grams, actively eating grass and by the age of one month they become completely independent.