- Young hares are called leverets.
- The life span is a maximum of 9 years.
- They are one of Ireland’s longest established indigenous animals and are much larger than rabbits with a more upright stance.
- Their eyes are large and set in the sides of the head allowing for a wide field of vision which is close to 360 degrees.
- When running they have a top speed of 70kmp or 43mph and can change direction sharply to outwit predators.
- They have five toes on their front feet and four on their hind.
- They do not burrow underground but occupy ground surface dens called forms in sheltered areas of flattened vegetation under heather and long grass.
- They are native to Ireland and they have been present in Ireland as far back as 28,000BC
- The hares are steeped in Irish legend/ folklore and Irish mythology as shapeshifters.
- There is a legend that the Celtic warrior Oisin hunted a hare, wounding it in the leg. Oisin followed the wounded animal into a thicket where he found a door leading down into the ground. He went in and came to a large hall where he found a beautiful young woman sitting on a throne bleeding from a leg wound. He vowed to never hunt or eat a hare from that day.
- The term “Mad as a March hare” stems from the fact that male hares will fight or “box” during March which is their primary mating season.