The brown hare jumps away

Story of my life: The hare jumps away every time I get close to it. It is really quick and disappears into the forest in seconds. But this corona spring I have been lucky and seen the hare more than ever before. The reason for this is that I have isolated myself to Lohja, where the nature is present everywhere.

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.

Brown hare spread to Finland in the early 20th century through Karelian isthmus. Originally brown hare was living in the steppes, but agriculture bring new possibilities and it started spread to new habitats. Nowadays their range extends from northern Spain to Northern countries, eastern Europe, and northern parts of Western and Central Asia.

Open farmland is a habitat for brown hares

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I walk quite often on afield nearby because brown hare and some white-tailed deers feed there. I have seen both species many time, but usually it is very difficult to photograph them as they escape immediately they detect me.

One day I was lucky to detect the brown hare from car. For some reason the hare did not escape but stayed still. I got three hare photos in which the hare is close enough and not running away 🙂

How to separate brown hare from mountain hare?

We have two hare species living in Finland: mountain hare and brown hare. During winter mountain hare is white, brown hare does not change color, it is always brown.

The brown hare is larger than the mountain hare and a large brown hare can weigh more than seven kilos. Even small adult brown hares generally weigh more than mountain hares. The brown hare is still slimmer than the mountain hare, and its limbs are relatively longer.

The upper part of the tail is black, the lower part is white.

I am planning to set up a tent on the field during summer and stay there overnight as brown hare is most active during nights. During summer the nights are light, so there is a good change to see hares and deers, may be also some foxes.

Thank you for reading my blog and hopefully you enjoyed my brown hare post. Have a nice spring and stay healthy!

Best regards, Minna❤️

Camera Canon 5D Mark II, lens Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM