Species group · Mammals

Hares

WAnimals has 8 species of hare, all in the family Leporidae.

8 species
1 family
59 countries
260 parks
Weight
1.3 kg – 7 kg
Length
38 cm – 70 cm
Lifespan
3 – 9 years

Ranges calculated from the entries that record the figure, not from all 8.

All 8 species of hares on WAnimals

Each one has its own full entry. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.

Conservation status

7 Least Concern1 Endangered

1 especies in this group están en alguna categoría de riesgo real según la UICN.

See the global conservation status

Where they live

Recorded in 59 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:

Where to see them

Did you know…

  • Unlike the rabbit, it digs no burrow: it is born in a shallow scrape on the ground.

    From European Hare

  • The young scatter individually during the day so as not to draw predators.

    From European Hare

  • It can have three or four litters a year.

    From European Hare

  • It turns white in winter to blend into the snow.

    From Mountain Hare

  • It moults to white in response to day length, not to snow: in increasingly mild winters it turns completely white against brown ground, a mismatch that ecologists call camouflage mismatch and that sends its mortality soaring.

    From Mountain Hare

  • The Alpine and Scottish populations are glacial relicts: they were left isolated on the summits when the ice retreated, and now have nowhere higher to go as the climate warms.

    From Mountain Hare

  • It is one of the best documented examples of predator-prey dynamics in ecology.

    From Snowshoe Hare

  • It eats grasses and shoots in summer, and the bark and twigs of woody shrubs in winter.

    From Snowshoe Hare

Ecosystems

See every species group · Explore the species one by one