---
title: "What the sources say about the European Hare | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "40 claims from the European Hare profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/european-hare/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the European Hare (*Lepus europaeus*)

> 40 claims from the European Hare profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [European Hare](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/european-hare/)

## Lepus europaeus. Animal Diversity Web.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Lepus_europaeus/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Mom parks her furry newborns apart and makes the rounds to nurse them. | Leverets are precocial at birth, with long and silky fur (Peterson, 1966). To protect leverets, the mother disperses them over a moderately wide area to avoid predation on the whole litter. The mother then makes the rounds to nurse them (note: tagline) |
| Open fields and pastures bordered by hedgerows and woodlots, often beside farm crops | European hares prefer open fields and pastures bordered by hedgerows and woodlots, often around agriculture fields and crops. (note: stats.habitat) |
| native from western Europe to Central Asia | The natural distribution of European hares includes Great Britain and western Europe, east to through the Middle East to Central Asia (note: stats.habitat) |
| Grasses, herbs and field crops in summer | European hares are herbivorous, eating grasses, herbs, and field crops during summer. (note: stats.diet) |
| twigs, buds and bark in winter | During winter European hares feed on twigs, buds, shrub bark, small trees, and young fruit tree bark. (note: stats.diet) |
| Leverets are born furred and well developed, then spread over a moderately wide area to avoid predation on the whole litter | Leverets are precocial at birth, with long and silky fur ... the mother disperses them over a moderately wide area to avoid predation on the whole litter (note: stats.superpower) |
| Baby European hares are called leverets, and they arrive precocial, a word for young that are well developed at birth. Their fur is already long and silky. | The young, called leverets, ... Leverets are precocial at birth, with long and silky fur (note: precocial glossed from ADW glossary: young are relatively well-developed when born) |
| The mother scatters them across a fairly wide patch, so a predator is less likely to find the whole litter, then goes from one to the next to feed them. | the mother disperses them over a moderately wide area to avoid predation on the whole litter. The mother then makes the rounds to nurse them |
| A litter holds 1 to 8 leverets, 3 to 5 on average | Litter size varies between 1 and 8, the average being 3 to 5 |
| a female has two to several litters a season | There are two to several litters a season. |
| Pregnancy lasts 30 to 42 days | The gestation period is between 30 and 42 days |
| the breeding season runs from midwinter (January or February) to midsummer | The breeding season for L. europaeus is between midwinter (January/February) and midsummer. |
| Leverets reach sexual maturity at eight months to a year. | reach sexual maturity at eight months to a year in age |
| By day a hare crouches in a dip in the ground called a form, partly hidden, with its back on show. | During the day they crouch in a depression called a 'form', partially concealed with their back showing |
| European hares mostly live alone outside the mating season, and they do most of their feeding at night, between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. | European hares are mainly solitary animals except during mating season. They are crepuscular and nocturnal, mostly foraging at night (between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.) |
| The coat is yellowish-brown to greyish-brown with a greyish-white underbody, and the long ears have black tips. | They have long ears with black tips ... The pelage is yellowish-brown to greyish-brown, with a greyish-white underbody. |
| It has an excellent sense of sight, smell and hearing. | European hares posess an excellent sense of sight, smell, and hearing. |
| Faced with a predator, a hare flees, and when it has to it can dodge and switch direction fast. | Upon detection of a predator, European hares will run to escape, and can dodge and change direction quickly if needed. |
| If needed it will also plunge into a stream, since European hares are decent swimmers. | They will also dive into streams if needed as they are decent swimmers |
| The known predators include red foxes, larger hawks and owls. | Known predators include red foxes, wolves, coyotes (in their introduced range in North America), wild cats, larger hawks, and owls |
| European hares commonly swallow their own soft, green droppings a second time, a habit called coprophagia. | They also commonly re-ingest their green, soft fecal pellets. This is known as coprophagia. |
| Summer meals are grasses, herbs and field crops. Winter switches the diet to twigs, buds, small trees and the bark of shrubs and young fruit trees. | eating grasses, herbs, and field crops during summer. During winter European hares feed on twigs, buds, shrub bark, small trees, and young fruit tree bark. |
| Just two or three adults put away as much greenery as a sheep does. | Two or three adult L. europaeus can eat as much vegetation as one sheep |
| People introduced the hare to Argentina and Australia, where it is a huge pest and its arrival was an agricultural disaster. | In other countries such as Australia and Argentina, L. europaeus is a huge pest, with introduction resulting in agricultural disaster |
| It breeds quickly and wrecks farmland, especially young apple orchards. | The problem lies in its quick reproduction and devastation to agriculture, especially young apple orchards |
| An adult weighs 3 to 5 kg | Range mass 3 to 5 kg |
| measures 600 to 750 mm in total length, with an average of 680 mm | Total length: 600-750 (average 680) mm |
| Its home turf stretches from Great Britain and western Europe across the Middle East to Central Asia. | The natural distribution of European hares includes Great Britain and western Europe, east to through the Middle East to Central Asia |
| People brought the species to Canada, the United States, South America and Australia | They have been introduced by humans to several other continents. In Canada, Lepus europaeus is found in southern Ontario ... In the United States, European hares are now found in the north-eastern states ... They have also been introduced to areas of South and Central America (Bonino and Montenegro, 1997) and Australia. |
| Ontario's hares came from Germany in 1912 | it was introduced to Ontario in 1912, from Germany |
| Adults range from 3 to 5 kg. Measured from nose to tail tip, they run 600 to 750 mm. | Range mass 3 to 5 kg ... Range length 600 to 750 mm |
| Leverets are born with fur and well developed. Their mother spreads them out to lower the risk of a predator taking the whole litter, and travels between them to nurse them. | Leverets are precocial at birth, with long and silky fur ... the mother disperses them over a moderately wide area to avoid predation on the whole litter. The mother then makes the rounds to nurse them |
| Faced with a predator, a European hare runs, and can dodge and change direction quickly | Upon detection of a predator, European hares will run to escape, and can dodge and change direction quickly if needed. (note: vibe.reason) |

## AnAge entry for Lepus europaeus. Human Ageing Genomic Resources, AnAge.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Lepus_europaeus

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The AnAge database lists an average adult weight of 4,175 g. | Life history traits (averages) ... Adult weight 4,175 g |
| AnAge's maximum longevity record is about 10.7 years in captivity, from a hare born in the wild. | Maximum longevity 10.7 years (captivity) ... One wild born specimen was about 10.7 years of age when it died in captivity |
| The database also cites an estimate of up to 10.7 years in the wild, and calls it doubtful. | It has been estimated that these animals live up to 10.7 years in the wild [ 0542 ], which is doubtful. |
| The longest life on AnAge's record is about 10.7 years in captivity, reached by a hare born in the wild. AnAge doubts an estimate that wild hares live up to 10.7 years. | It has been estimated that these animals live up to 10.7 years in the wild [ 0542 ], which is doubtful. One wild born specimen was about 10.7 years of age when it died in captivity |
| weightKg: 4.175 | Adult weight 4,175 g (note: typical adult mass) |

## Hackländer (2025). Lepus europaeus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2025: e.T41280A217911459.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2025-1.rlts.t41280a217911459.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: conservationStatus; GBIF's copy of the Red List, taxon 41280, checked against the assessment DOI) |
| The IUCN Red List rates it Least Concern. | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). |