European Hare - Range and Habitat

Range and Habitat

The European hare ranges from continental Europe though the Middle East and into central Asia. It was probably introduced to Great Britain in ancient times, partially replacing its close relative, the Mountain hare. In more recent centuries the hare has been introduced to many other areas around the world: Eastern North America, South America, Australia, New Zealand and many islands including Tasmania, the Falklands, Barbados and Reunion. The species was imported to North America from Germany by a farmer living near Cambridge, Ontario, Canada in 1912. It escaped from the farm, successfully colonized fields and woodland edges, and quickly made the "Jackrabbit" a common sight in southern Ontario, New York State and New England.

Hares primarily live in open fields and pasture usually near agricultural areas and bordered by hedgerows and woodlots. They prefer to live in shallow forms like clumps of grass, weeds or brush. According to a study done in the Czech Republic the mean hare densities were highest in habitat with elevations from sea level to 200 m (231.47/10 km2), annual snow cover duration from 40–60 days (183.95/10 km2); mean annual precipitation: 450–700 mm (174.71/10 km2), annual sunshine duration: 1801-2000 (169.72/10 km2) and mean annual air temperature of around 10.0˚C (245.00/10 km2). Climatic areas with the highest mean densities were found to have been "A warm and dry district with mild winter and longer duration of sunshine; a warm and dry district with mild winter and shorter duration of sunshine; a warm and moderately dry district with mild winter".