HARE, the name of the well-known English rodent now desig nated Lepus europaeus. The name includes all the numerous allied species which do not come under the designation of rabbits. (See RABBIT.) In parts of Europe, where the ordinary species does not occur, its place is taken by the closely allied blue, or mountain hare, the true L. timidus of Linnaeus, and the type of the genus Lepus and the family Leporidae. (See RODENTIA.) The blue hare is a smaller animal with a more rounded and relatively smaller head, and the ears, hind-legs and tail shorter. In southern Sweden it is permanently of a light f ulvous grey, with black tips to the ears, but in more northerly districts the fur—except the black ear-tips—changes to white in winter, and still farther north the animal appears to be white at all seasons. In Ireland there is an allied species, L. hibernicus, distinguished by its more russet colouring, and the partial or complete absence of the white winter coat. The range of the common hare extends from England across southern and central Europe to the Caucasus ; while that of the blue or mountain species reaches from Scotland and Scandi navia through northern Europe and Asia to Japan and Kamchatka, and thence to Alaska.
The hare takes readily to the water, where it swims well; an instance having been recorded in which one was observed crossing an arm of the sea about a mile in width. Hares are remarkably prolific, pairing when scarcely a year old, and the female bringing forth several broods in the year. The young are born covered with hair and with the eyes open, and after being suckled for a month are able to look after themselves. In Europe this species has seldom bred in confinement, although an instance has recently been recorded. It will interbreed with the blue hare.
Hares (and rabbits) have a cosmopolitan distribution with the exception of Madagascar and Australasia; and are now divided into numerous genera mentioned in the article RODENTIA. The most important of these groups is the typical genus which con tains over 8o different species distributed over Europe, Asia, N. America and Africa. Some hares look more like rabbits than hares and are frequently referred to as such ; for instance, the American "cotton-tails" (Sylvilagus) and "jack-rabbits" (Macrotolagus). The more northern N. American hares, like the Polar hare (L. arcticus) and the Greenland hare (L. groenlandicus), turn white in winter. Southern forms, like the wood-hare, gray rabbit, or cotton-tail (S. floridanus), do not change colour. The Brazilian hare (S. brasilieusis) is nearly allied to the wood-hare.