45-651: The mountain hare ( Lepus timidus ), also known as blue hare , tundra hare , variable hare , white hare , snow hare , alpine hare , and Irish hare , is a species of Palearctic hare that is largely adapted to polar and mountainous habitats. The mountain hare arose during the Late Pleistocene ; there is evidence that its range expanded during glaciations into southern Europe, with populations of Iberian hare ( Lepus granatensis ), European hare ( L. europaeus) and broom hare ( L. castroviejoi ) in northern Iberia harboring mitochondrial haplotypes from
90-477: A biodiversity hotspot . In Southeastern Asia, high mountain ranges form tongues of Palearctic flora and fauna in northern Indochina and southern China . Isolated small outposts ( sky islands ) occur as far south as central Myanmar (on Nat Ma Taung , 3,050 m; 10,010 ft), northernmost Vietnam (on Fan Si Pan , 3,140 m; 10,300 ft) and the high mountains of Taiwan . The realm contains several important freshwater ecoregions as well, including
135-599: A "golden" variation, particularly those found on Rathlin Island . In the Faroe Islands, mountain hares turn grey in the winter instead of white. The winter-grey colour may be caused by downregulation of the agouti hair cycle isoform in the autumn moult. The diet of the mountain hare varies from region to region. It seems to be somewhat dependent on the particular habitat in which the population under study lives. For example, in northern Scandinavia, where snow may blanket
180-456: A time when access to food resources is restricted by snow. It recommended ensuring that forests inhabited by mountain hares were kept free of tourist development, and that new skiing areas should be avoided in mountain hare habitat, and that existing sites should not be expanded. In August 2016, the Scottish animal welfare charity OneKind launched a campaign on behalf of the mountain hare, as
225-477: A variety of other foods, including lichens and mosses , blooms, other species' leaves, twigs, and roots, mountain sorrel and macroalgae (seaweed). Arctic hare diets are more diverse in summer. Although previously believed to still be primarily willow, dryas , and grasses , recent studies show that their diet becomes dominated by legumes, constituting 70% of their diet in the summer. Arctic hares have been reported to occasionally eat meat, including fish and
270-712: A way of raising awareness of mountain hare culls taking place across the country and in garnering public support for the issue. Mountain hares are routinely shot in the Scottish Highlands both as part of paid hunting "tours" and by gamekeepers managing red grouse populations (who believe that mountain hares can be vectors of diseases that affect the birds). Much of this activity is secretive, but investigations have revealed that tens of thousands of hares are being culled every year. The campaign, which urges people to proclaim, "We Care For The Mountain Hare", will culminate with
315-761: Is a species of hare highly adapted to living in the Arctic tundra and other icy biomes. The Arctic hare survives with shortened ears and limbs, a small nose, fat that makes up close to 20% of its body, and a thick coat of fur . It usually digs holes in the ground or under the snow to keep warm and to sleep. Arctic hares look like rabbits but have shorter ears, are taller when standing, and, unlike rabbits, can thrive in extreme cold. They can travel together with many other hares, sometimes huddling with dozens or more, but are usually found alone, sometimes taking more than one partner. The Arctic hare can run up to 60 kilometres per hour (40 mph). Arctic explorer John Ross described
360-405: Is also one of the world's most endangered biogeographic regions; only 4% of the region's original vegetation remains, and human activities, including overgrazing , deforestation , and conversion of lands for pasture, agriculture, and urbanization, have degraded much of the region. Formerly the region was mostly covered with forests and woodlands, but heavy human use has reduced much of the region to
405-620: Is distributed over the northernmost regions of Greenland , the Canadian Arctic islands and Northern Canada , including Ellesmere Island , and farther south in Labrador and Newfoundland . The Arctic hare is well adapted to conditions found in the tundras , plateaus , and treeless coasts of this region, including cold weather and frozen precipitation . The Arctic hare may be found at elevations from sea level to 900 m (3,000 ft). In Newfoundland and Southern Labrador ,
450-541: Is often significantly less in the winter compared to the summer, likely caused by decreased food quality and availability in addition to a decreased metabolic rate. Arctic hare body mass might also be affected by ambient temperature. At lower latitudes it was found that Arctic hares in Greenland exhibited larger body size with increased temperature, possibly caused by increased energy availability to contribute to body size and increased food plant availability. The opposite
495-498: Is probably the most successful predator of the Arctic hare, and even young wolves in their first autumn can catch adult hares. Arctic foxes and ermines, which are smaller, typically prey on young hares. Gyrfalcon carry hares to their nests, cutting them in half first; gyrfalcons use hare bones and feet in the structure of their nests on Ellesmere Island , Nunavut . Peregrine falcons ( Falco peregrinus ) also prey on Arctic hares in
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#1732766080791540-699: Is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas , and North Africa . The realm consists of several bioregions : the Euro-Siberian region; the Mediterranean Basin ; North Africa ; North Arabia ; and Western , Central and East Asia . The Palaearctic realm also has numerous rivers and lakes, forming several freshwater ecoregions. The term 'Palearctic'
585-624: Is the same scheme that persists today, with relatively minor revisions, and the addition of two more realms: Oceania and the Antarctic realm . The Palearctic realm includes mostly boreal/subarctic-climate and temperate-climate ecoregions, which run across Eurasia from western Europe to the Bering Sea . The boreal and temperate Euro-Siberian region is the Palearctic's largest biogeographic region, which transitions from tundra in
630-400: Is true at higher latitudes in which Arctic hares had smaller body sizes with increased temperature. This trend is again linked to food plant availability. In this case, decreased precipitation and increased temperatures in the higher latitudes of Greenland result in a lower food plant availability to contribute to body mass. Breeding season occurs around April or May. Gestation period of
675-468: Is usually able to drive away the mountain hare, but is less adapted for living in snowy regions; its feet are smaller and its winter fur is a mixture of white and brown. While this winter fur is actually a very good camouflage in the coastal regions of Finland where the snow covers the shrubs only a short time, the mountain hare is better adapted for the snowier conditions of the inland areas. The two may occasionally cross. The Arctic hare ( Lepus arcticus )
720-801: The Alps , Scotland , the Baltics , northeastern Poland , and Hokkaidō . In Ireland , the Irish hare ( L. t. hibernicus ) lives on lowland pastures, coastal grasslands, and salt marshes , not just in the mountains. The mountain hare has also been introduced to Iceland , Shetland , Orkney , the Isle of Man , the Peak District , Svalbard , the Kerguelen Islands , the Crozet Islands , and
765-539: The Bering land bridge , and have very similar mammal and bird fauna, with many Eurasian species having moved into North America, and fewer North American species having moved into Eurasia. Many zoologists consider the Palearctic and Nearctic to be a single Holarctic realm . The Palearctic and Nearctic also share many plant species, which botanists call the Arcto-Tertiary Geoflora . The lands bordering
810-756: The Faroe Islands . In the Alps, the mountain hare lives at elevations from 700 to 3,800 m (2,300 to 12,500 ft), depending on geographic region and season. The mountain hare is a large species, though it is slightly smaller than the European hare . It grows to a length of 45–65 cm (18–26 in), with a tail of 4–8 cm ( 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 –3 in), and a mass of 2–5.3 kg ( 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 – 11 + 3 ⁄ 4 lb), females being slightly heavier than males. They can live for up to 12 years. In summer, for all populations of mountain hares,
855-728: The Holocene epoch, with fossils from the Last Glacial Period found in North America and Europe and no fossils from before the Holocene found in Russia. The Arctic hare is a herbivore , specifically a folivore . Arctic hares feed primarily on woody plants , with arctic willow constituting 95% of their diet year-round. Arctic hares predominantly consume saxifrage , crowberry , and dwarf willow , but can also eat
900-500: The Mediterranean Sea in southern Europe, north Africa, and western Asia are home to the Mediterranean Basin ecoregions, which together constitute the world's largest and most diverse mediterranean climate region of the world, with generally mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers. The Mediterranean basin's mosaic of Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub are home to 13,000 endemic species. The Mediterranean basin
945-577: The People's Trust for Endangered Species funded a survey of mountain hare populations in the UK's Peak District after concerns about the viability of the isolated population, believed to be as low as 2,500. The trust believes climate change is a threat to long-term survival of the Peak District population, which was introduced to the area in the 1870s. Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic
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#1732766080791990-675: The caribou ). Several large Palearctic animals became extinct from the end of the Pleistocene into historic times, including Irish elk ( Megaloceros giganteus ), aurochs ( Bos primigenius ), woolly rhinoceros ( Coelodonta antiquitatis ), woolly mammoth ( Mammuthus primigenius ), North African elephant ( Loxodonta africana pharaoensis ), Chinese elephant ( Elephas maximus rubridens ), cave bear ( Ursus spelaeus ), Straight tusked elephant ( Palaeoloxodon antiquus ) and European lion ( Panthera leo europaea ). Arctic hare 4, see text The Arctic hare ( Lepus arcticus )
1035-531: The sclerophyll shrublands known as chaparral , matorral , maquis , or garrigue . Conservation International has designated the Mediterranean basin as one of the world's biodiversity hotspots . A great belt of deserts , including the Atlantic coastal desert , Sahara Desert, and Arabian Desert , separates the Palearctic and Afrotropic ecoregions. This scheme includes these desert ecoregions in
1080-628: The temperate rain forests of the Euxine-Colchic deciduous forests ecoregion. Central Asia and the Iranian plateau are home to dry steppe grasslands and desert basins, with montane forests, woodlands, and grasslands in the region's high mountains and plateaux. In southern Asia the boundary of the Palearctic is largely altitudinal. The middle altitude foothills of the Himalaya between about 2,000–2,500 m (6,600–8,200 ft) form
1125-429: The Arctic hare changes its coat color , moulting and growing new fur, from brown or grey in the summer to white in the winter. This seasonal moulting also enables other Arctic animals, including ermine and ptarmigan , to remain camouflaged as the environment changes. However, the Arctic hares in the far north of Canada , where summer is very short, remain white all year round. Arctic hare fossils are rare prior to
1170-446: The Arctic hare in 1819. The Arctic hare is one of the largest living lagomorphs . Typically, this species measures from 43 to 70 cm (17 to 28 in) long, not counting a tail length of 4.5 to 10 cm (1.8 to 3.9 in). The body mass of this species is typically between 2.5–5.5 kg (6–12 lb), though large individuals can weigh up to 7 kg (15 lb). There are four subspecies of this hare: The Arctic hare
1215-408: The Arctic hare is 53 days, so the babies are born around May, June, or July. Hares can have up to eight babies (average litter size 5.4), called leverets. The leverets stay within the mother's home range until they can survive on their own. Young Arctic hares are almost full size by late July (some weeks after birth) and breed for the first time after a year of age. There is little information on
1260-447: The Arctic hare to save energy, making it adaptive for its cold and barren habitat. In addition, the Arctic hare has high locomotive efficiency combined with long periods of resting and shorter bouts of foraging which enables it to conserve energy and survive on its low diet intake. The white fur of Arctic hares, in addition to their camouflage benefits in the winter, have a high reflectance which may prevent excessive heat gain during
1305-412: The boundary between the Palearctic and Indomalaya ecoregions. China , Korea and Japan are more humid and temperate than adjacent Siberia and Central Asia, and are home to rich temperate coniferous, broadleaf, and mixed forests, which are now mostly limited to mountainous areas, as the densely populated lowlands and river basins have been converted to intensive agricultural and urban use. East Asia
1350-567: The charity urging the Scottish government to legislate against commercial hunting and culling of the iconic Scottish species. The campaign has revealed widespread public support for a ban on hare hunting in Scotland. On May 17, 2020, MSPs voted to ban the unlicensed culling of mountain hares and grant them protected species status within Scotland after a petition started by Green MSP Alison Johnstone gathered over 22,000 signatures. In 2021,
1395-492: The coat is various shades of brown. In preparation for winter most populations moult into a white (or largely white) pelage . The tail remains completely white all year round, distinguishing the mountain hare from the European hare ( Lepus europaeus ), which has a black upper side to the tail. The subspecies Lepus timidus hibernicus (the Irish mountain hare) is smaller in size and stays brown all year. The Irish hare may also have
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1440-617: The day. Behaviorally, the Arctic hare keeps warm in winter using body orientation, posture, and seeking or digging shelter. When resting, Arctic hares maintain a nearly spherical shape and typically stay in groups, but do not huddle. If the rabbits are solitary, they often rest in the shelter of large rocks protecting them from the wind and staying out of sight of predators. In addition to rocks, Arctic hares also find shelter in other natural shelters such as snowdrifts, man-made structures, and even digging their own burrows in snowdrifts up to 188 cm in length. The body size of Arctic hares
1485-481: The diet of the European rabbit ( Oryctolagus cuniculus ) that inhabited the same environment. The mountain hare is regionally the favourite prey of the golden eagle and may additionally be preyed on by Eurasian eagle-owls and red foxes . Stoats may prey on young hares. In southern parts of Finland, Norway, and Sweden, the mountain hare and the European hare compete for habitat. The European hare, being larger,
1530-469: The ground for many months, the hares may feed on twigs and bark. In areas where snowfall is rare, such as Ireland, grass may form the bulk of the diet. Given a choice, mountain hares in Scotland and Ireland seem to prefer grazing (feeding on grasses). For mountain hares on a coastal grassland environment in Ireland, grasses constituted over 90% of their diet. This was higher than the percentage of grass in
1575-528: The heavily developed rivers of Europe , the rivers of Russia , which flow into the Arctic , Baltic , Black , and Caspian seas, Siberia 's Lake Baikal , the oldest and deepest lake on the planet, and Japan's ancient Lake Biwa . One bird family, the accentors (Prunellidae), is endemic to the Palearctic region. The Holarctic has four other endemic bird families: the divers or loons (Gaviidae), grouse (Tetraoninae), auks (Alcidae), and waxwings (Bombycillidae). There are no endemic mammal orders in
1620-418: The last few decades of the 20th century, resulting in expansion of ski resorts, growing visitor numbers, and a huge increase in all forms of snow sport activities. A 2013 study looking at stress events and the response of mountain hares to disturbance concluded that those hares living in areas of high winter recreational activities showed changes in physiology and behaviour that demanded additional energy input at
1665-546: The lifespan of Arctic hares. Some anecdotal evidence suggests they live three to five years in the wild. Arctic hares do not fare well in captivity, living only a year and a half at most. Known predators of the Arctic hare are the Arctic fox ( Vulpes lagopus ), Red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ), Wolf ( Canis lupus ), Lynx ( Lynx canadensis ), Ermine ( Mustela erminea ), Snowy owl ( Bubo scandiacus ), Gyrfalcon ( Falco rusticolus ), Rough-legged hawk ( Buteo lagopus ) – and occasionally humans. The Arctic wolf
1710-522: The mountain hare. During the Late Pleistocene to Early Holocene , populations of mountain hare in Russia grew at least 10% larger than any living population today. This population has been classified as a distinct species Lepus tanaiticus , but is now generally considered a prehistoric morphotype of the living mountain hare. This species is distributed from Fennoscandia to eastern Siberia ; in addition, isolated mountain populations occur in
1755-542: The northern reaches of Russia and Scandinavia to the vast taiga , the boreal coniferous forests which run across the continent. South of the taiga are a belt of temperate broadleaf and mixed forests and temperate coniferous forests . This vast Euro-Siberian region is characterized by many shared plant and animal species, and has many affinities with the temperate and boreal regions of the Nearctic realm of North America . Eurasia and North America were often connected by
1800-630: The palearctic realm; other biogeographers identify the realm boundary as the transition zone between the desert ecoregions and the Mediterranean basin ecoregions to the north, which places the deserts in the Afrotropic, while others place the boundary through the middle of the desert. The Caucasus mountains, which run between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea , are a particularly rich mix of coniferous, broadleaf, and mixed forests, and include
1845-689: The region, but several families are endemic: Calomyscidae ( mouse-like hamsters ), Prolagidae , and Ailuridae ( red pandas ). Several mammal species originated in the Palearctic and spread to the Nearctic during the Ice Age , including the brown bear ( Ursus arctos , known in North America as the grizzly), red deer ( Cervus elaphus ) in Europe and the closely related elk ( Cervus canadensis ) in far eastern Siberia, American bison ( Bison bison ), and reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus , known in North America as
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1890-450: The stomach contents of eviscerated caribou . They eat snow to get water. The Arctic hare has many physiological features that are adaptive to its extreme environment. Despite a 17% - 38% lower than expected basal metabolic rate , the Arctic hare is able to maintain a body temperature comparable to other lagomorphs (38.9 degrees C) because of its low surface area to volume ratio and high insulation. The lowered metabolic rate also allows
1935-757: Was first used in the 19th century, and is still in use as the basis for zoogeographic classification. In an 1858 paper for the Proceedings of the Linnean Society , British zoologist Philip Sclater first identified six terrestrial zoogeographic realms of the world: Palaearctic, Aethiopian/ Afrotropic , Indian / Indomalayan , Australasian , Nearctic , and Neotropical . The six indicated general groupings of fauna, based on shared biogeography and large-scale geographic barriers to migration. Alfred Wallace adopted Sclater's scheme for his book The Geographical Distribution of Animals , published in 1876. This
1980-502: Was not much affected by glaciation in the ice ages , and retained 96 percent of Pliocene tree genera, while Europe retained only 27 percent. In the subtropical region of southern China and southern edge of the Himalayas, the Palearctic temperate forests transition to the subtropical and tropical forests of Indomalaya , creating a rich and diverse mix of plant and animal species. The mountains of southwest China are also designated as
2025-531: Was once considered a subspecies of the mountain hare, but it is now regarded as a separate species. Similarly, some scientists believe that the Irish hare should be regarded as a separate species. Fifteen subspecies are currently recognised. In the European Alps, the mountain hare lives at elevations from 700 to 3,800 metres (2,300 to 12,500 ft), depending on biographic region and season. The development of alpine winter tourism has increased rapidly since
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