The scrub hare, (Lepus saxatilis), is a species of hare found in South Africa, parts of central Africa, and Namibia. It is found at about 1 - 2 km above sea level. Its dorsal fur is gray and black, while its ventral fur is white. It has a black and white tail, while it has lighter fur around its face. Its length varies from 45 cm to 65 cm, while it weighs 1.5 - 4.5 kg. Females are typically larger than males. The average mass at birth is 115 grams. Parental care is low and for a very short time. Hares in captivity have been known to survive for six to seven years, while those in the wild usually do not make it past their first year. It attempts to escape predators by remaining motionless until the last moment, then attempts to run in a zigzag pattern. It is often infested with lice and fleas.
Famous quotes containing the words scrub and/or hare:
“I rise in the dawn, and I kneel and blow
Till the seed of the fire flicker and glow;
And then I must scrub and bake and sweep
Till the stars are beginning to blink and peep;
And the young lie long and dream in their bed....”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“No humane being, past the thoughtless age of boyhood, will wantonly murder any creature which holds its life by the same tenure that he does. The hare in its extremity cries like a child. I warn you, mothers, that my sympathies do not always make the usual philanthropic distinctions.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)