Brown Hare

Lepus europaeus

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

at Egmont National Park

2 Verified sightings at Egmont National Park From 2019 to 2026

1,598 Verified sightings across all 41 parks From 2019 to 2026

🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted at dawn and dusk

About the Brown Hare

The European hare (Lepus europaeus), also known as the brown hare, is a species of hare native to Europe and parts of Asia. It is among the largest hare species and is adapted to temperate, open country. Hares are herbivorous and feed mainly on grasses and herbs, supplementing these with twigs, buds, bark and field crops, particularly in winter. Their natural predators include red foxes and large birds of prey. They rely on high-speed endurance running to escape predation, having long, powerful limbs and large nostrils.

Generally nocturnal and shy in nature, hares change their behaviour in the spring, when they can be seen in broad daylight chasing one another around in fields. During this spring frenzy they sometimes strike one another with their paws ("boxing"). This is not just competition between males: females may also hit males, either to show they are not ready to mate or to test the males' determination. The female nests in a depression on the surface of the ground known as a form rather than in a burrow, and the young are active as soon as they are born. Litters may consist of three or four young and a female can bear three litters a year, with hares living for up to twelve years. The breeding season lasts from January to August.

The European hare is listed as being of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature because it has a wide range and is moderately abundant. However populations have been declining in mainland Europe since the 1960s, at least partly due to changes in farming practices. The hare has been hunted across Europe for centuries, with more than five million being shot each year; in Britain it has traditionally been hunted by beagling and hare coursing, but these field sports are now illegal (though illegal hare-coursing continues). The hare is a traditional symbol of fertility and reproduction in some cultures and its courtship behaviour in the spring inspired the English idiom mad as a March hare. Female hares are known as does, while juveniles are leverets. Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

#	Park	Country	Daily sighting probability
1	Fertő-Hanság National Park	🇭🇺 Hungary	~60%
2	Kiskunság National Park	🇭🇺 Hungary	~50%
3	Hortobágy National Park	🇭🇺 Hungary	~40%
4	Torres del Paine National Park	🇨🇱 Chile	~40%
5	Península Valdés	🇦🇷 Argentina	~40%
6	Bavarian Forest National Park	🇩🇪 Germany	~30%
7	Wadden Sea National Park	🇩🇪 Germany	~30%
8	Biebrza National Park	🇵🇱 Poland	~30%
9	Cairngorms National Park	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	~30%
10	Białowieża National Park	🇵🇱 Poland	~20%
11	Arthur's Pass National Park	🇳🇿 New Zealand	~20%
12	Nahuel Huapi National Park	🇦🇷 Argentina	~20%
13	Cévennes National Park	🇫🇷 France	~10%
14	Tongariro National Park	🇳🇿 New Zealand	~10%
15	Mercantour National Park	🇫🇷 France	~10%
16	Pyrénées National Park	🇫🇷 France	~10%
17	Snowdonia National Park	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	~10%
18	Kosciuszko National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	~10%
19	Fiordland National Park	🇳🇿 New Zealand	~10%
20	Blue Mountains National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	~10%
21	Lamington National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	~10%
22	Springbrook National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	~10%
23	Lauca National Park	🇨🇱 Chile	Insufficient data
24	Gauja National Park	🇱🇻 Latvia	Insufficient data
25	Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park	🇨🇱 Chile	Insufficient data
26	Egmont National Park	🇳🇿 New Zealand	Insufficient data
27	Ecrins National Park	🇫🇷 France	Insufficient data
28	Aigüestortes National Park	🇪🇸 Spain	Insufficient data
29	Aoraki Mount Cook National Park	🇳🇿 New Zealand	Insufficient data
30	Serra da Canastra National Park	🇧🇷 Brazil	Insufficient data
31	Iberá National Park	🇦🇷 Argentina	Insufficient data
32	Triglav National Park	🇸🇮 Slovenia	Insufficient data
33	Flinders Ranges National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	Insufficient data
34	Abel Tasman National Park	🇳🇿 New Zealand	Insufficient data
35	Vanoise National Park	🇫🇷 France	Insufficient data
36	Iguazú National Park	🇦🇷 Argentina	Insufficient data
37	Grampians National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	Insufficient data
38	Hohe Tauern National Park	🇦🇹 Austria	Insufficient data
39	Tatra National Park	🇸🇰 Slovakia	Insufficient data
40	Great Otway National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	Insufficient data
41	Point Pelee National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	Insufficient data

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