Hare
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{{otheruses}}
{{redirect2|Jackrabbit|Jack rabbit}}
{{Redirect|Lepus}}
{{Taxobox
| name = Hares
| image = Feldhase.jpg
| image_caption = [[European Hare]] (''Lepus europaeus'')
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[Mammal]]ia
| ordo = [[Lagomorpha]]
| familia = [[Leporidae]]
| genus = '''''Lepus'''''
| genus_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758
| type_species = [[Mountain Hare|''Lepus timidus'']]
| type_species_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758
| subdivision_ranks = [[Species]]
| subdivision =
See text
}}
'''Hares''' and '''jackrabbits''' are [[leporid]]s belonging to the [[genus]] '''''Lepus'''''. (Four other species of leporid in the genera ''[[Caprolagus]]'' and ''[[Pronolagus]]'' are also called "hares".) Very young hares, less than one year old, are called '''leverets'''.
They are very fast moving. The [[European Brown Hare]] (''Lepus europaeus'') can run at speeds of up to 72 [[km/h]] (45 [[mph]]).
Hares live [[solitary|solitarily]] or in pairs, whilst "a drove of hares" is the [[collective noun]] for a group of hares.
A common type of hare in Arctic [[North America]] is the [[Snowshoe Hare]], replaced further south by the [[Black-tailed Jackrabbit]], [[White-tailed Jackrabbit]] and other species.
Normally a shy animal, the European Brown Hare changes its behaviour in spring, when hares can be seen in broad daylight chasing one another around meadows; this appears to be competition between males to attain dominance (and hence more access to breeding females). During this spring frenzy, hares can be seen "boxing"; one hare striking another with its paws (probably the origin of the term "[[mad as a March hare]]"). For a long time it had been thought that this was inter-male competition, but closer observation has revealed that it is usually a female hitting a male, either to show that she is not yet quite ready to mate, or as a test of his determination.
==Differences from rabbits==
{{main|Rabbit}}
Hares do not bear their young below ground in a [[burrow]] as do other leporids, but rather in a shallow depression or flattened nest of grass called a [[form (nest)|form]]. Hares are adapted to the lack of physical protection, relative to that afforded by a burrow, by being born fully furred and with eyes open. They are hence able to fend for themselves very quickly after birth — that is to say, they are [[precocial]]. By contrast, the related [[rabbit]]s and [[cottontail rabbit]]s are [[altricial]], having young that are born blind and hairless.
All rabbits (except the cottontail rabbits) live underground in burrows or warrens, while hares (and cottontail rabbits) live in simple nests above the ground, and usually do not live in groups. Hares are generally larger than rabbits, with longer ears, and have black markings on their fur. Hares have not been domesticated, while rabbits are often kept as house pets. There is a domestic pet known as the "Belgian Hare" but this is a rabbit that has been selectively bred to resemble a hare.<ref>[http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-belgian-hare.htm What is a Belgian Hare?<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
The hare's diet is very similar to the rabbit's.
== Classification ==
[[Image:Brown Hare444.jpg|thumb|A Cape Hare ''Lepus capensis '']]
* '''Genus ''Lepus'' '''<ref name=msw3>{{MSW3 Hoffmann | pages = 195-205}}</ref>
** Subgenus ''Macrotolagus''
*** [[Antelope Jackrabbit]], ''Lepus alleni''
** Subgenus ''Poecilolagus''
*** [[Snowshoe Hare]], ''Lepus americanus''
** Subgenus ''Lepus''
*** [[Arctic Hare]], ''Lepus arcticus''
*** [[Alaskan Hare]], ''Lepus othus''
*** [[Mountain Hare]], ''Lepus timidus''
** Subgenus ''Proeulagus''
*** [[Black-tailed Jackrabbit]], ''Lepus californicus''
*** [[White-sided Jackrabbit]], ''Lepus callotis''
*** [[Cape Hare]], ''Lepus capensis''
*** [[Tehuantepec Jackrabbit]], ''Lepus flavigularis''
*** [[Black Jackrabbit]], ''Lepus insularis''
*** [[Scrub Hare]], ''Lepus saxatilis''
*** [[Desert Hare]], ''Lepus tibetanus''
*** [[Tolai Hare]], ''Lepus tolai''
** Subgenus ''Eulagos''
*** [[Broom Hare]], ''Lepus castroviejoi''
*** [[Yunnan Hare]], ''Lepus comus''
*** [[Korean Hare]], ''Lepus coreanus''
*** [[Corsican Hare]], ''Lepus corsicanus''
*** [[European Hare]], ''Lepus europaeus''
*** [[Granada Hare]], ''Lepus granatensis''
*** [[Manchurian Hare]], ''Lepus mandschuricus''
*** [[Woolly Hare]], ''Lepus oiostolus''
*** [[Ethiopian Highland Hare]], ''Lepus starcki''
*** [[White-tailed Jackrabbit]], ''Lepus townsendii''
** Subgenus ''Sabanalagus''
*** [[Ethiopian Hare]], ''Lepus fagani''
*** [[African Savanna Hare]], ''Lepus microtis''
** Subgenus ''Indolagus''
*** [[Hainan Hare]], ''Lepus hainanus''
*** [[Indian Hare]], ''Lepus nigricollis''
*** [[Burmese Hare]], ''Lepus peguensis''
** Subgenus ''Sinolagus''
*** [[Chinese Hare]], ''Lepus sinensis''
** Subgenus ''Tarimolagus''
*** [[Yarkand Hare]], ''Lepus yarkandensis''
** Subgenus ''[[incertae sedis]]''
*** [[Japanese Hare]], ''Lepus brachyurus''
*** [[Abyssinian Hare]], ''Lepus habessinicus''
== Folklore and mythology ==
[[Image:How to allure the Hare Fac simile of a Miniature in the Manuscript of Phoebus Fifteenth Century.png|thumb|"How to allure the Hare". Facsimile of a Miniature in the Manuscript of Phoebus (Fifteenth Century).]]
The hare in African folk tales is a [[trickster]]; some of the stories about the hare were retold among African [[slavery|slaves]] in America, and are the basis of the [[Brer Rabbit]] stories. The hare appears in English folklore in the saying "as mad as a [[March Hare|March hare]]".
Many cultures, including the [[India]]n and [[Japan]]ese, see a hare in the pattern of [[lunar mare|dark patches]] in the [[moon]] (see [[Man in the Moon]]). The constellation [[Lepus (constellation)|Lepus]] represents a hare. There is evidence to suggest that there was some sort of [[taboo]] regarding hares in the [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Proto-Indo-European]] culture; this is especially notable due to the likelihood that the common word for hare, *kasos, which literally means "the grey one", was a euphemism for a previous and now lost word for hare.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
According to [[Halakha|Jewish tradition]], the hare is among many of the mammals deemed not [[Kosher foods|Kosher]].
One of Aesop's fables tells the story of ''[[The Tortoise and the Hare]]''.
===Famous hares===
[[Image:A Young Hare, Albrect Durer.jpg|thumb|right|A Young Hare, watercolor, 1502, by [[Albrecht Dürer]].]]
*Jack Hare, central character in [[Kit Williams]]' treasure hunt book ''[[Masquerade (book)|Masquerade]]''
*[[Bucky O'Hare]]
* [[Jazz Jackrabbit (character)|Jazz Jackrabbit]]
* Hare from ''[[Monster Rancher]]''
* Hartley Hare from ''[[Pipkins]]''
* Mad [[March Hare]] from ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]''
* Hare Jordan, [[Bugs Bunny]]'s alter-ego in a [[Nike, Inc.|Nike]] advertisement campaign alongside [[Michael Jordan]].
* ''[[Night of the Lepus]]'' features a number of murderous hares.
* Two hares travelled with ''[[The Animals of Farthing Wood]]''
* The hare in the fable ''[[The Tortoise and the Hare]],'' attributed to [[Aesop]].
* A large number of hares appear in the ''[[Redwall]]'' series of books and are almost always militaristic, particularly those from [[Salamandastron (Redwall)|Salamandastron]], and have an affected speech pattern.
* Peppy Hare from the ''[[Star Fox (series)|Star Fox]]'' series of video games
* Zayats, the hare from the Russian cartoon '' [[Nu, pogodi!]] ''
===Three hares===
{{main|Three hares}}
Recent (2004) research has followed the history and migration of a symbolic image of three hares with conjoined ears. In this image, three hares are seen chasing each other in a circle with their heads near its centre. While each of the animals appears to have two ears, only three ears are depicted. The ears form a triangle at the centre of the circle and each is shared by two of the hares. The image has been traced from [[Christianity|Christian]] churches in the English county of [[Devon]] right back along the [[Silk Road]] to [[China]], via Western and Eastern Europe and the Middle East. It is possible that even before its appearance in China it was actually first depicted in the Middle East before being re-imported centuries later. Its use has been found associated with [[Christian]], [[Jewish]], [[Islamic]] and [[Buddhist]] sites stretching back to about 600 CE.
== Placenames ==
The hare has given rise to local placenames, as they can often be repeatedly observed over many years in favoured localities. An example in Scotland is 'Murchland', the [[Scots]] for a hare being 'Murchen'.<ref name="Warrack">Warrack, Alexander Edit. ''Chambers'' Scots Dictionary. Pub. W. & R. Chambers, Edinburgh.</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{Cookbook|Rabbit}}
*[http://www.chrischapmanphotography.com/hares/ The Three Hares Project]
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/livingworld/florafauna/irish_hare.shtml BBC Living World section about Hares]
{{Lagomorpha|L.}}
[[Category:Lepus| ]]
[[ar:قواع]]
[[bar:Echte Håsn]]
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[[cs:Zajíc]]
[[da:Hare]]
[[de:Echte Hasen]]
[[es:Lepus]]
[[eo:Leporo]]
[[eu:Erbi (animalia)]]
[[fr:Lièvre]]
[[gl:Lebre]]
[[io:Leporo]]
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[[it:Lepus (genere)]]
[[he:ארנבת]]
[[la:Lepus]]
[[li:Echte haoze]]
[[mt:Liepru]]
[[nah:Cihtli]]
[[nl:Echte hazen]]
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[[no:Harer]]
[[pl:Lepus]]
[[pt:Lebre]]
[[qu:Liwri]]
[[ru:Зайцы (род)]]
[[sq:Lepuri]]
[[simple:Hare]]
[[sl:Pravi zajec]]
[[sv:Harar (släkte)]]
[[te:చెవుల పిల్లి]]
[[th:กระต่ายแจ๊ก]]