Mountain Hare

About the Mountain Hare

The mountain hare or arctic 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 hare that is largely adapted to polar and mountainous habitats in the Palearctic realm. It is a large hare, slightly smaller than the European hare and identifiable by its tail, which is completely white throughout the year. Mountain hares have a brown coat in summer and white to grey in winter. Their diet is highly adaptive to their environment, but is generally made up of plant matter such as grass, twigs, and bark.

The scientific name Lepus timidus was proposed by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. The mountain hare arose during the Late Pleistocene; there is evidence that its range expanded during glaciations into southern Europe, with populations of the Iberian hare (Lepus granatensis), European hare (L. europaeus) and broom hare (L. castroviejoi) in northern Iberia harboring mitochondrial haplotypes from the mountain hare.

During the Late Pleistocene to Early Holocene, the mountain hare in Russia grew at least 10% larger than other hare species today. It was therefore classified as a distinct... Wikipedia →