Brown Hare Lepus europaeus

The hare’s distinctive large ears and characteristic black tips, along with their long hind legs, make them easy to recognise and removes the possibility for confusing them withdifferentiate from rabbits. This energetic animal is notorious for displaying erratic behaviour in frivolous chases and frenzied boxing.

Conservation status in Norfolk

Numbers of the once common hare have shown a steady decline in England since the 1960s. This may be linked to changes in the way crops are grown and grasslands are managed. Shooting and hare coursing, especially in areas where the hare is already declining, may also have contributed to losses. Norfolk holds nationally important populations of hares and, whilst numbers have declined, it remains a stronghold for this species.

Click to see the Biodiversity Action Plan Species for this species

How to help

Leverets can be inadvertently killed during mowing operations. When mowing large areas of grass in areas that hares frequent, be vigilant for the presence of leverets.

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Information on the Brown Hare

How to recognise

Brown hares are substantially bigger than rabbits, and have much longer hind legs. Any possibility of confusing these two species is immediately removed when the ears are seen. A hare’s ears are huge, often more than 10cm long, with distinctive black tips.

Where to see

Look for hares on arable farmland, grazing marshes, heaths, and on saltmarsh, shingle and cliff top coastal habitats. Hares are at home in the large open arable fields of Fenland and central Norfolk, in the cattle-grazed marshlands of Broadland, and on the sandy heaths and fields of Breckland. They favour areas with a patchwork of grassland and crops.

When to see

Present throughout the year, but difficult to spot on farmland when the crops have grown tall. The best time to look for hares is dawn or dusk. Hares mainly feed at night and lie up during the day. Late winter and early spring are the best times to scan the fields for hares.

If you are lucky you might observe some mad March hare behaviour, when up to twenty hares gather together and indulge in madcap chases and furious boxing matches, though this can actually take place any time between December and April.

Did you know?

A male hare is known as a ‘Jack’ and a female a ‘Jill’. Brown hares may have been introduced by the Romans, or by Iron Age peoples, and the original native hare in Britain was the Mountain Hare. Witches were once thought to have the power to turn into hares to escape their enemies. In folklore the hare is associated with fertility and the original Easter bunny was actually a hare.

Finding out more

The Mammals Trust UK
The Mammal Society

Related questions

Surveying mammals - When is the best time to look for mammals in the wider countryside?

Surveying mammals in each season will yield particular specialities. In spring, arable fields will be good places to watch brown hares boxing and squirrels will be busy chasing each other through the woodland canopy. The shorter nights of summer may result in adult foxes being forced to hunt in daylight to satisfy the hunger of their young (which may be found playing near to their den). Autumn brings the deer rut, falling leaves and dying vegetation reveal the nests of harvest mice and many small mammals will be busy gathering supplies ready for the impending cold. Winter may force the more secretive mammals into the open in search of food, and snow will enable you to look for fresh tracks and trails.

Getting started - How do I find out what wildlife information already exists?

Norfolk Biodiversity Information Service (NBIS) can provide you with details of any wildlife records held for any location in Norfolk.
Natural England holds information on wildlife on all Sites of Special Scientific Interest and National Nature Reserves and also maintains an inventory of ancient woods.
The National Biodiversity Network Gateway acts as a 'data warehouse' for biodiversity information, which can be quickly and easily accessed to understand the distribution of particular species in the UK. Individual records, covering plants, mammals, birds and invertebrates, are stored on the NBN Gateway and these can then be displayed on a map of the UK in a number of different ways.
Our own website holds information on sites designated as County Wildlife Sites and on wildlife of churchyards in the Churchyard Conservation Scheme.
Norfolk County Council holds information on ancient trees, local nature reserves and roadside verges designated as Roadside Verge Reserves.
The Norfolk Records Office holds many historical documents which may include historic information on wildlife.
Parish and District Councils hold local parish and structure plans, which may include information on local sites of wildlife importance.
Landowners and gamekeepers may know a great deal about wildlife on their land including species such as deer, brown hares, and foxes.

If you do discover previous survey have been done then this can be a huge bonus. It may be possible to compare your results with previous information and discover what changes have occurred. Getting started

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