In winter they’re hare today, but gone tomorrow
A COLLEAGUE told me of a wonderful experience this week – he had been watching mountain hares close to his home on the Pennines.
It is a long time since I have seen a mountain hare, but they are really one of our most beautiful mammals.
One of the reasons for this is that, at this time of year, they have white coats to help camouflage themselves from predators.
On the Pennines, at the moment, that camouflage is not helping much as things are still pretty much green, but when it starts to snow and predators are struggling to find food, it comes in really handy.
Birds of prey and foxes will struggle to see a white hare against a white background, so the hares become almost invisible.
While we have managed to avoid any heavy snowfalls so far this year, it is great time to see mountain hares as they go about their business of feeding up ready for the mating season.
While most of these creatures are found around the Scottish Islands, Cumbria and the Peak District, we have had reports for some years of them in the Pennines along the Greater Manchester boundary.
Mountain hares have a greybrown coat in summer, this coat has a blue tinge.
As autumn moves in, the coat turns white but the tips of its ears are black.
The best times to see them are before the snow arrives in winter and in spring when the snow has melted.
Mountain hares are larger than rabbits and smaller than brown hares, with shorter ears.
Brown hares can be seen in lowland areas and on higher ground all year round.
The brown hare is said to have been introduced by the Romans, although there has been some dispute about this recently, but the mountain hare is definitely a native species to Scotland.
Our local hares probably have Scottish accents, having been introduced from the Highlands.
They feed on vegetation and the bark of young trees and bushes and do not dig burrows like rabbits.
All hares shelter in ‘forms’ or shallow depressions in the ground or grass. They use their powerful hind legs to speed away from any disturbance.
The young hares, or leverets, are fairly fully formed early on, but parents try to find excellent hiding places to keep individual young sheltered from danger.
The question I ask is, how have we lived in the north west for so long and not spotted a white mammal on our doorsteps?
Well we probably aren’t getting our boots and warms coats on and heading off to the hills to experience this amazing hare.