European hare Lepus europaeus

Features

The European hare is a loner and stays in its territory all year round. It is active day and night. He solves predators mainly by running fast, he is a good runner.

Species	Mammal
Living space	Field, Meadow
Size	40-70 cm
Weight	2-5 kg

Description

It feeds mostly on the green parts of plants, but the food is highly dependent on the season. Vitamin-rich soft stools, which are excreted during the day, are ingested again (coprophagy). Mating begins in winter. Rabbits are being chased en masse around January 20th. Pregnancy lasts 42 days, and there are 1-6 young in the litter, which are immediately fully furred. At birth they weigh about 150 g. Adult animals reach weight after 240 days. An female may have 4 litters per year. If the eggs were fertilized in only one branch of the uterus, the eggs in the other branch may also be fertilized before birth. Thus, the European hare carries embryos of different ages. A phenomenon that is relatively rare is called superfetation. The lifespan of a European hare is 12-13 years, but in nature rare rabbits are older than 5 years. Mortality is highest in young animals in the first year of life. The most important predator is probably the fox, and puppies are also preyed on by predators, martens and stray cats. Many subspecies are known, but they are difficult to distinguish from each other. European hare of coastal areas are smaller than continental ones. Of course, we must not forget that in the past, rabbits from various parts of Europe, especially the Czech Republic and Serbia, settled in Slovenia. Thus, we will never know the genetic and morphological characteristics of our indigenous rabbits.