Lepus europaeus (Lagomorpha: Leporidae)

Abstract

Abstract: Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778, commonly called the European hare, is one of 32 species of Lepus. It is widely distributed in Europe and Asia where it was not native but introduced by humans for sport. L. europaeus does not burrow, nor hibernate, and gives birth to precocial young (leverets). It prefers open grassland, fields, agricultural farmland, and pastures with hedgerows and bushes. Declining populations in several countries since the 1960s led to increased research to investigate the reasons; L. europaeus is considered threatened in several countries, but of “Least Concern” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.