Hares are ubiquitous animals around the world. They have been introduced to many corners of the Earth by humans, but thanks to their high fertility and excellent adaptability to a variety of conditions they successfully survive almost everywhere, despite the fact that nature has destined them the role of prey, which can get to the dinner of any predator.
Fact number one.
Despite their relatively small brains, hares are very smart and nimble. That’s why they are very clever at hiding from danger. They are unusually fast and agile animals, able to confuse their tracks, escaping from numerous enemies. Many of them change the color of their fur depending on the season, and are able to hide in order not to be caught in the teeth of their pursuers.
Hares are not easy to tame. But when they are raised with other animals from childhood, they easily adopt their habits. There is a well-documented case where a hare raised by a domestic dog has adopted a number of habits from it, even throwing himself at other dogs and biting them.
Fact number two.
When a hare has her young, she tries to secure her brood with natural cunning. After a while, the hare doesn’t return to her cubs just because predators can’t find her cubs’ scent trail. The hare simply tangles her tracks with other people’s, to disorient predators. But as long as the hare has milk, she will feed all the other alien cubs in her path.
Such is the hare’s mutual assistance. Hares have sharp claws, and when defending themselves with their hind paws, they can tear the enemy’s belly open. Hares protect their cubs if they are attacked by a small bird, such as a crow.
Fact number three.
Many people are convinced that hares are white in winter and gray in summer. But there are some species that do not change color. They live on warm continents, where winters are mild with temperatures above 0 C.
Fact number four.
Hares have a visual system so that they can see absolutely everything around them, except for what is in front of their muzzle and behind their tail. Each hare’s eye can rotate freely within an entire hemisphere, giving the hare a 360° view. So it is impossible to sneak up on a hare from behind. But their eyesight is not very sharp, so hares become easy prey for fast predators.
Fact number five.
Arctic hares communicate with each other by «drumming» with their paws. And they surely know in which place the sound will be most audible.
Fact number six.
A hare’s ears provide hearing in the frequency range of 360-42,000 Hz (for a human it is 64-23,000 Hz) with extremely low intensity of sound pressure. Each hare’s ear can rotate on its own, like a locator, to «tune in» to the noise source. In nature, only bats, rats and field mice hear better than hares. Moreover, hare ears help to remove excessive heat.
Fact number seven.
The growth of hares’ teeth never stops. When hares eat, they make up to 3-4 chewing movements per second. That’s why their teeth wear out and wear down quickly. If it weren’t for their constant growth, toothless hares would simply starve to death after 2-3 months of their lives.
Fact number eight.
Hares feed at night. During the day, they hide in the grass or under trees, having previously confused their tracks. Before hiding, the hare follows its own trail and jumps a long distance, so that a predator cannot follow it.
Fact number nine.
Hares run fast. Their speed can reach 70 km/h. They are not easy to catch up with numerous enemies. On top of that, they can brake sharply, easily change direction, which slows down the pursuer.
Fact number ten.
Hares eat their own feces. They don’t do it out of hunger or because they’re stupid. It’s because of their digestive system. They simply need to digest part of their food in two stages. In nature, a similar mechanism is present in many animals.
On March 20, the world celebrates an unusual holiday — March Hares Day, which also coincides with the day of the vernal equinox. As you know, this day symbolizes the arrival of spring, the long-awaited sun and warmth, represents the revival and rebirth of nature after a long winter.
