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Brown hare - LEPUS CAPENSIS
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Hare": "Hare" comes from Old English "hara," a word for the animal.
Location: Europe (except Ireland), across central Asia, and south through most of Africa. It has also been introduced to Australia, New Zealand, Chile, and parts of North America.
Habitat: Terrestrial. The brown hare has a preference for flat areas and terrain near cultivated land; rarely in coniferous woodland. But it is an adaptable animal.
Description: The body of this hare is covered with cinnamon-brown fur, which is more reddish on the back, neck, and sides. The four-inch-long ears are black-tipped, and the upper part of the tail is also black while the rest of the tail is white. The hind legs are longer than the front legs. This hare can grow over two and one half feet long, including the tail, and can weigh as much as fourteen and a half pounds, varying with locale.
Behavior: The brown hare feeds on many species of plants. It is normally solitary and marks its own territory with strong-smelling secretions produced from glands situated in its anal region, around its face, and inside its cheeks. These secretions are also important in the mating season, when they are used to attract a mate. It can run very fast, with just the tips of its hind feet making contact with the ground. In its ordinary gait, however, it rests its whole foot on the ground.
Reproduction: Gestation lasts for 42 days and each litter consists of two to four young. There are probably 3 or 4 litters per year.
Go to the Rabbits Page to get a general discussion of this order of animals.
Go to the Rabbits Index to study the other rabbits and hares included in America Zoo.
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