The hare is the largest of the hare family, its length can reach 70 cm, and its weight is 7 kg. On average, an adult hare weighs 4–5 kg. Its ears are longer than those of the hare (100–120 mm) and have a longer, pointed tail (Fig. 1).

The tips of the ears are dark, almost black. The general color of the coat is yellowish-fawn-brownish, grayish sides and a lighter belly and neck. On the back is a chubary belt, or saddle. In winter, the hare brightens considerably (sometimes even turns white), but never becomes completely white. The color of the winter attire largely depends on the permanent habitat: on whether it is open snow-covered fields or dark weeds. The undercoat is pronounced, with a slightly curly outer hair. The long hind legs are covered with dense, close-fitting hair of medium hardness. The running speed of the hare is higher than that of the hare, and reaches 50 km / h. Rusak is originally a steppe animal, but it is also widespread in the forest-steppe zone. With development Agriculture and due to deforestation, the range of the hare has expanded significantly (Fig. 2).

A lot of hares settle along the edges of forests and in bushes. The Russians were artificially and quite successfully settled in the Novosibirsk, Kemerovo, Chita regions, in the Altai, Krasnoyarsk, Khabarovsk territories, although they did not reach a significant number everywhere. In the northern parts of the range, the hare is larger than in the southern. Rusak leads a settled way of life, stubbornly preferring the places where he was born. The hare lies down for the night within a radius of 400 m from the former lair, and, only repeatedly frightened by the persecution, he leaves these places forever. Frightened, for example, on the stubble, the hare will not return here the next day, but will lie down in the forest belt or forest plantations, but in a day it will be in the same place. In the steppe zone, in foodless winters, hares sometimes migrate en masse in search of food. As long as the height and looseness of the snow cover allow, the hare will feed on winter crops. With a strong crust or very high snow cover, it becomes a pest garden trees or fattening along the edges of forest belts and forests. With the onset of a thaw, it returns to its favorite food. It lies down on hard ground without making a den, but in loose ground it digs a hole about 8 cm deep and lies down with its head on its outstretched forepaws and ears flattened. Subtle hearing allows him to constantly monitor the environment (Fig. 3).

During the summer, the hares have up to four broods in the south, three - in middle lane, to the east - no more than two. Bunnies of spring litter are called nastoviks, summer ones are called spikelets, late summer and early autumn are called deciduous ones. Broods are small - 2-4 hare. They are born in a small depression, natural or made by a hare, very developed, with open eyes. The mother stays with them for a very short time, feeds them with thick, fatty milk, and leaves them for several days. If another nursing hare stumbles upon the cubs, she will feed them, and in general, the number of feedings before feeding on green food is minimal. Young hares still live close to each other for a long time. They become fully grown by 15 months, although they are able to reproduce earlier. Life expectancy is 7-8 years. The rut begins in the middle of winter, the males are very excited at this time, they run a lot in search of a female, and, having gathered near her several individuals at a time, they arrange “dances” and duels: they stand on their hind legs and “box” each other with their front ones. A hare's pregnancy lasts 45–50 days. The ability to confuse tracks in hares is innate, but the ability to adapt and gain experience is also great. Seasoned hares become almost arrogant: they distinguish a hunter from a pedestrian, a tied dog from a dog running free, while the young are very cautious and too shy, often even to their own detriment. This explains the large screening of the hare in the first year of life. Rusak is not too prone to disease. Working collective farmers, cars, tractors, hares quickly cease to be frightened. Running away, they sometimes try to determine the situation: they sit down or, standing on their hind legs, look around. A hare who has been under the greyhounds at least once will never do this again. In the literature there is an example of the unusual behavior of a hare: running away from the greyhounds, he can push another hare off the bed and lie down in his place if the dogs are not very close. Both young and mature hares avoid approaching forest plantations during heavy leaf fall, as the noise of the leaves prevents them from hearing the approaching enemy.

They also don’t like the water dripping from trees and tall bushes, so after the rain he tries to find a dry place. In very cold springs with heavy rains, the hares of the first litter may die, and then in the fall the small number of hares becomes very noticeable, but still the fluctuation in the number of the hare is less pronounced than that of the hare, which is very prone to epizootics in rainy years.

The white hare can also reach 70 cm in length, but its weight does not exceed 5.5 kg (average weight 2.5–3 kg). The ears are not too long with black tips, which remain so even with a white winter outfit.

In summer, the hare is even darker than the hare and has a dirty brown-reddish color with a light belly; there is no blackness on the tail. In countries with a pronounced maritime climate, the white hare does not turn white, since there is little snow and it does not lie for long.

It leads a purely forest lifestyle, but does not clog in the thickets, preferring sparse deciduous forests and forests, interspersed with clearings, burnt areas and glades, although it tries not to go out into open places, except for hiking in the threshing floor, in gardens and orchards.

In the middle of summer, it sometimes lies down on a field of unharvested cereals, but near a saving forest. He enters the fields of winter crops, which he loves no less than a hare. In the forest, it feeds on leaves, tree shoots, herbaceous plants. Favorite tree is aspen.

Although the white hare runs slower than the hare, its hind legs are larger and more powerful relative to the body, the paws of the hind legs are wider and the hair on them is stiffer than that of the hare. This is explained by the fact that in the forest the snow is looser - the necessary wider "skis".

The area of ​​​​distribution is extremely wide, it lives almost everywhere on the territory of Russia and, except for the tundra, where hares undertake seasonal migrations, lives sedentary, changing only places of feeding depending on the season (Fig. 5).

For daytime rest, he chooses strong places, except for periods of leaf fall and drops, when he prefers to lie down in an open place. It is especially active in the early morning hours, and in the tundra it is also active during the day. The hare's hearing is exceptionally developed, but his eyesight and sense of smell are not very good. Quiet standing man he may not find out. In the spring, after a hunger strike, they accumulate in clearings with young grass, which they eat with greed, while losing their vigilance. The rut is violent, and fights often occur between males. In the tundra, a hare has only one litter, but up to 7 rabbits, and in the middle lane and to the south - 2–3, but there are 2 times fewer rabbits in each litter. Hares are sighted and independent already at birth, covered with thick hair, grow very quickly and are able to run quite fast. The brood stays close to the mother, and it happens that the hare, like birds, takes the predator away from the hares, simulating a wound. Already at the end of the first week of life, hares begin to eat grass.

In autumn and early winter, while the snow is still shallow, the main food supply for the hare is winter crops. In the lands they are the main focus. Most often, a hare settles down on a bed 80-100 m from greenery. Its presence can be recognized by the sharpened islets on winter. If the cut ends did not turn yellow, then the hare fed on the current or last night. Old litter has a grayish color, while fresh litter is dark green and crumpled in the fingers without crumbling. On wet soil, traces are easily distinguished. The hare likes to lie down on arable land under a dump or in a double furrow. It makes sense to check only the old arable lands adjacent to the greenery. It is useless to look for a hare on a freshly plowed field and harrow, it will not lie down in too dirty arable land. Other fields adjacent to winter crops are also suitable for searching: inconvenient with mounds and ravines, perennials (fields not cultivated for a long time), stubble and weeds. For shelter, the hare uses any irregularities: pits, tall grass, stacks, heaps of straw and rolls in mowed fields. In autumn, one can observe the desire of a hare to get away from the chase precisely for winter crops, as well as get on the road and hide in the nearest forest belt. The hare also lays down directly on winter crops, if they are not too low, also closer to the edge on a more elevated part of the field (drier there). It is better to bypass such a field 60 m from the edge, the part adjacent to the forest belt is especially promising. In dense tall greens, he can jump right out from under his feet. The bed here can be noticed by the heap of earth thrown out during the laying. Often a lump of earth can be mistaken for such a tubercle, but it’s still worth checking. In all cases, one should try to go only to the wind in order to be detected as late as possible, and always be ready to shoot. The hare has a habit of appearing as soon as you throw the gun behind your back. At the beginning of the season, you can hunt well in collective farm gardens overgrown with weeds, when the hare is not at all afraid of humans. The difficulty lies in the fact that the animal appears only for a fraction of a second and hides in the next row, so it is better to hunt here in three. Later, it is useless to look for a whipped hare in the garden. It is difficult to hunt in the pre-winter period. A whitened hare lurks in anticipation of snow, lies down along the edges of ravines overgrown with rare shrub, in shelterbelts. Still gray hares prefer high weeds, easily passable near the ground. It is better not to look for a hare in high dense tangled grass, it is unsuitable for fast running.

With the onset of winter, the hare moves to arable land, no longer making a significant difference whether they are old or fresher. It is also worth looking for at the edge of winter crops, 100–200 m away. You need to find fattening and a trail leading from them to arable land. If the field is only lightly covered with snow, tracing is difficult, but the right direction can still be determined. It happens that the wind drives the upper dry layer of snow and covers the tracks, then you need to act like on an autumn hunt, just walk along the greenery no closer than 100 m from their edge and be very careful: the hare is poorly distinguished on a motley field. On the field, completely covered with a fairly even layer of snow, the bed can be seen from afar by the “cap” of snow thrown from the bed, but it happens that the bed is just a depression. Lairs are now more often located near the landing, where the hare feeds during the period of deep snow, but they can also be in the middle of the field, but only with compacted snow, the hare does not go deep into the field on loose deep snow. In the middle of winter, he prefers deep arable land, in which he digs rather deep holes for lying. They are hardly noticeable to the hunter, and sometimes a hare breaks out of the snow right under his feet or behind his back. At any time of the season, a hardened hare shows more composure and endurance than profit, tries to lie over the danger. He is more afraid of the hunter stopping than his movements. It often happens that when the hunter stopped, considering a further route, a little to the side behind him, a hare jumps up - his nerves could not stand it.

The corners of the field with tufts of dry grass are very loved by hares, the islands are inconvenient in the middle of winter crops. In a field of alfalfa, he hides under mowed swaths. On cultivated fields, the hare digs its bed along, and not across the rows, and in the steppe - under a protruding beam of more tall plants. It occurs in beams along the edge of the reeds or in weeds. In high snow, it feeds not only on branches along the edge of plantings, but also on seeds from the tops of tall weeds, which have now become available to it. On bright, sunny days, it is good if the sun shines on your back, otherwise it is difficult to make a good shot. You also need to remember that the hare lays down with its head to its mark.

In late autumn, the gardens of summer residents and rural residents beckon the hare. In shallow snow, it can be caught directly on summer cottages, and near villages, he can stay constantly. Weeds near farms and village cemeteries are very promising, along the edge of which the hare lies down quite often.

The weather is very important factor. In damp, cloudy weather and in a thaw, the hare lies firmly and lets it close, on clear, frosty days, when the snow creaks underfoot, it can be extremely difficult to approach the shot. Strong wind from the beast will help to get closer, calm weather will prevent this. If after a thaw it froze at night, it is practically useless to go hunting. In autumn, if you enter winter or thick grass and your shoes become very wet, it is very unlikely to find a hare here. But in the mowed sunflower and corn, a hare can both lie down and hide from his pursuers.

The hare prefers to leave in the wind. The hare is strong on the wound, after a shot, even if it seems to be a sure miss, still follow the movement of the animal, there is a chance to get a wounded animal in the tracks in the snow. But you do not need to go right away, otherwise the hare will run all day. It is necessary to let him find a place to lie down, after 1 hour he can easily be reached. The hare has a great craving for holes, he loves to hide in the holes of foxes and badgers and even in pipes.

In autumn, it often escapes pursuers by roads, ski tracks and its own trodden paths - in winter.

A barometer can give you a hint. Height atmospheric pressure says that the hare will keep open places and behave carefully and sensitively. With a sharp drop in atmospheric pressure, the hare lies tightly on the stubble, arable land, along the edges, in places, in weeds or perennials.

You need to walk slowly, with fast movement, the hare lets the hunter pass. And the rider must ride at the slowest pace. The horse is less afraid of the animal. The hare (like the hare) can be found by fattening, only these are gnaws on trees, the bark and shoots are gnawed there. The bites look darkened, weathered, if they were made a long time ago, fresh bites are light. It can also be found not far from permanent place feeding, moreover, sometimes it is possible to raise two or even three whites, possibly littermates. Having bypassed the fattening in a spiral, the hare can be raised at a distance of 200 to 300 m. He prefers to lie under the eversion, with a spruce paw, in a depression at the roots.

In dense plantings, whites choose small clumps of young fir trees for lying. Running across an open place, the hare tries to stick to at least some kind of shelter, for example, the trunk of a fallen tree.

If it was not possible to get a raised hare, run 50–70 m along the path of the animal and, stopping, carefully look around and listen. Usually a young hare tries to determine where the danger comes from, and, crouching, also looks around and listens. And it happens that, having run a small circle, he stumbles directly on the hunter.

In winter, hare prefers to feed in willows along the banks of rivers and lakes. The hare (like the hare) at this time goes to feed on the outskirts of villages, to farms and gardens. In November-December, a well-fed hare quickly goes to bed, and by the end of January it starts to run a lot, leaving a long confused trail. It takes off, going to the prone, 2–3 m behind the Christmas tree, a stump, a snow puff and, having made a small loop, lays down with its head on its mark.

In heavy snow, it digs a mink both under cover and in the open. The white hare lies extremely firmly in such a hole: you can ski nearby, but it will not rise. The length of the trail of a hare going to the hare can reach 3 km.

Four species of hares live in our country. The white hare inhabits the tundra, forest and forest-steppe zones; hare - the southern half of the European part, the northwestern part of Kazakhstan and certain areas in the south of Western and Central Siberia; tolai hare, or sandstone, - Central Asia, Kazakhstan and Transbaikalia; Manchu - south Far East. Here we will focus only on the first two, the most common types.

The white hare is especially widespread among us. The length of his body is from 45 to 65 centimeters, weight is from 2.5 to 5.5 kilograms. The ears are relatively short: bent forward, their ends barely reach the tip of the nose. Paws are wide and strongly pubescent. Summer coat is reddish-brown. Dull coloration helps the animal to escape from numerous enemies (it "dissolves" against the background of forest vegetation). In winter, the hare is snow-white, only the tips of its ears remain black.

Belyak is a resident of forests. Only in the tundra and at the southern border of distribution does it live in treeless spaces, and even then it chooses the most protected places there: thickets of shrubs in river valleys, steppe pegs. Solid tracts of tall forest, devoid of grass cover and deciduous undergrowth, are not very attractive to him. Here, hares are rarely found, mainly on the outskirts of swamps, in burnt areas. The white hare reaches its greatest abundance in places where Various types Forest lands are located in a mosaic pattern - on islands of forest among overgrown clearings and burnt areas, in floodplain forests, thickets along water bodies, on the edges of forest glades, in moist lowlands and other similar places where the herbage develops well and the undergrowth of deciduous species is rich.

In summer, the hare eats succulent feed - various types herbaceous vegetation. At this time, he experiences salt starvation: he gnaws the bones of dead animals, horns shed by deer, visits salt licks - natural salt outlets, where he gnaws on brackish earth. In autumn, it gradually switches to branch forages and feeds on them almost all winter. Eats thin branches and young shoots of soft hardwoods - willow, aspen, birch, and in more southern habitats - oak, maple, hazel. From thicker branches, hares gnaw the bark. If the wind knocks down the aspen in the forest or in the clearing, the hare gather in this place for a feast. After some time, all the knots of a fallen tree, covered with a coarse light green bark, are gnawed by hares. The branches, to which the hares could not reach, "process" the moose, and soon only the white skeleton of a fallen tree remains in the snow.

In addition to branch food, white hare eat small amounts of dry grass among weeds sticking out from under the snow, choose leaves from haystacks left in forest clearings and in floodplains, or pick up shreds of hay on forest roads, confused during removal.

The hare has several broods per year. In the Arkhangelsk and Vologda regions - two broods per summer, in the more southern regions - three, and in Eastern Siberia, in Yakutia, where the frost-free period is short - one. The rut takes place in March, and in a warm winter even at the end of February. During the rut, males give a voice at night and at dawn, gather several animals together, and fight. The female is sometimes covered by several males.

The hare brings the first brood after 49 - 51 days of pregnancy early: often in the forest there is still snow covered with infusion. Hunters call such early rabbits nastoviks. Newborns weigh 90 - 130 grams. They are born sighted and covered with hair. On the first day of life, they are able to move, and on the 9th - 10th day they begin to eat grass. A newborn hare knows how to hide so tightly that you can often step on it.

Shortly after giving birth, the female mates again and brings a second litter in the middle of summer. In the southern part of the range, the last hares (the third litter) appear in autumn, in September. They are called deciduous. In years with early cold, there is a large natural mortality in late broods. Number of rabbits in a litter different areas habitats vary, on average three to six. It has been noticed that in those places where females bring three broods, in each of them there are fewer cubs than in areas where a hare brings only one litter.

The number of belyaks changes dramatically over the years. They are prone to a number of diseases, which in years of high abundance cause massive epizootics and high mortality of animals.

The main enemies of the hare are the fox and the lynx. Many birds attack rabbits, even the gray crow. Hare golden eagle and eagle owl are successfully hunted, but these birds are currently so few that their importance as enemies is negligible.

The hare is somewhat larger than the white hare: it weighs four to five, sometimes seven kilograms. His ears are also much longer: bent forward, they go beyond the tip of the nose. In summer, the hare is yellowish-fawn-red, brighter than the hare. In the southern part of the range, its winter coloration does not differ from summer, only the fur becomes thicker and more lush. In the northern part of the range, this hare partially turns white, but its back always remains brown.

Rusak - resident open spaces. Its favorite habitats are virgin steppes, floodplains of wide rivers, agricultural lands, small copses and bushes. It rarely enters the depths of coniferous plantations. Sometimes found in close proximity to settlements where it

gardens attract in autumn, and gardens and hay in winter. In summer, the hare eats succulent herbaceous plants, and in winter, various dry herbs and their seeds, goes out to feed on winter, eats bark and shoots of willow, maple, hawthorn, and penetrating into gardens - apple trees and pears.

The hare breeds more intensively than the hare. He has three litters a year, and in the south of the range in other years even four or five. Pregnancy lasts 45 - 50 days. The hare brings the first brood in April. In the spring brood there are on average three hares, in the summer there are five. Cubs are born weighing about 100 grams and grow quickly. After two weeks, their weight quadruples, and they begin to feed on vegetation.

The hare is less prone to epizootics, especially helminthic invasions, apparently because it lives in open places accessible to the sun, but, compared to the hare, it suffers more from predators.

In summer, due to dense vegetation, it is difficult to detect traces of hares. It’s easier to lift the animal itself from the bed or stumble somewhere on a brood of hares, and even then in the thickets you won’t have time to see the flashed animal. In the evening twilight, hares love to run along paths and roads, and if you look closely, you can see the prints of their claws on soft soil. They give out the presence of hares and balls of their droppings.

In winter, when everything is covered with a white veil of snow, patterns of hare tracks can be found both in the forest and in the fields.

Unlike most other animals, hares move only in one gait - a gallop, and the running speed depends on the size of the jump. There are three types of hare heritage: fodder, or fattening, running and rutting.

During feeding, the hare moves in very small jumps. Lowers the front paws to the ground, stretching the body, and then, pushing off with both hind legs at the same time, as if pulling them to the front (does not bring the hind legs behind the front ones). Paw prints on the places of fatness are tightly molded to one another. The tracks show that while eating, the hare often sits on its hind legs.

The walking trail of a hare is more or less long jumps, in which the animal brings its hind legs behind its front ones. He puts them in parallel, and one of the front paws for greater stability brings a little forward. This trace is calm, the soles of the hind legs, as well as on the fat trace, are completely imprinted.

When running fast, especially when the hare is escaping from enemies, he places his hind legs not side by side, but one somewhat in front of the other, as a result of which the prints of all four paws of the rutting track are stretched in length and lie close to a straight line. With such a gait, the hare's hind legs do not leave prints of the entire sole (from the claws to the hock), but only one toe, just like the front ones. He runs as if on "socks".

Despite the fact that the hare is larger than the hare, its tracks are smaller. The fact is that the hare - a resident of the forests, where the snow is more loose, the paws are wider and more pubescent. The narrow paw of the hare is better adapted to fast running. By the way, greyhounds with a narrow, collected, so-called "Russian" paw are especially valued by hunters.

The nature of the heirs of hares is different. The hare moves slowly, in short hops, feeds little by little and at many points. But if the hares find an aspen or its top felled by the wind, they gather in such a place in several individuals, trample the snow tightly here and lull it with droppings. By the middle of winter, white squirrels in their habitats fill a whole network of thorny paths, which their enemies, foxes and lynxes, also like to use.

Rusak moves more briskly, as his hauls are removed from feeding places. The fattening places of the hare are more concentrated and several animals usually gather on them. These hares do not fill trails, since in open places the snow is denser than in the forest, and it is easier to walk on virgin soil.

Both hares are characterized by entanglement of traces before lying down. The hare confuses them especially subtly. In order to throw off the trail of a potential pursuer, he does not go from the place of fattening to the laying place in a direct way. The animal makes "loops", repeatedly crossing its own track, "bumps", passing along the old track 20 - 30 meters in the opposite direction, and "sweeps" - large jumps to the side. Making a mark, he tries to jump into a bush, a thaw patch, a tussock, a bunch of weeds, to a place where his paw prints are less noticeable. Before lying down, he makes several loops, doubles and sweeps, chooses a lying place in a secluded place and settles with his head to his trail in order to notice the enemy in time and have time to hide unnoticed while he unravels the patterns of his tracks.

The white hare also makes loops and sweeps away from its trace, but many times less than the hare. But he climbs into such strong places to lay down that not every predator manages to catch him by surprise.

In the footsteps, you can learn a lot of interesting things about the hare. One winter in the forest on the Onega Peninsula, I read in the footsteps of a small comic scene from the life of this animal. Very tired, I was returning home along a snow-covered forest road. A hare trail ran along the groove. The hare moved in small leaps, stopping near bushes sticking out from under the snow and tufts of last year's grass. Suddenly in the snow ... a dark failure. This white hare got into the "telyachok" - an unfrozen swamp. The thin ice could not bear its weight and broke through. The animal quickly jumped out into the snow, splashed brown peat slurry over the white shroud, and after such an unexpected bath, quickly rolled forward. Yes, it was not there! Without galloping even fifty meters, he jumped into the wood grouse hole with a run. Apparently, they were both scared. The oblique swiftly rushed into the thicket, and the suddenly awakened rooster could not even immediately take off. He fell out of the hole, first on one side, then rolled onto the other, and stroked the snow several times with his elastic wings before he rose into the air. This little funny story made me laugh, cheered me up and the road to the house no longer seemed so long and difficult.

Hares are of great commercial importance. The skin of a hare is imitated as more expensive furs, and the hair of a hare is the best raw material for obtaining felt. The meat of animals is rich in vitamins and is a valuable food product.

Especially great is the importance of hares as an object of sport hunting. Many sports and hunting farms carry out special biotechnical measures (feeding, arrangement of salt licks, resettlement) aimed at increasing the number of animals.

Shooting of hares is limited by the terms of hunting, and in special hunting farms, in addition, by the rate of production.

The hare is the largest of the hare family, its length can reach 70 cm, and its weight is 7 kg. On average, an adult hare weighs 4–5 kg. Its ears are longer than those of the hare (100–120 mm) and a longer, pointed tail.

The tips of the ears are dark, almost black. The general color of the coat is yellowish-fawn-brownish, grayish sides and a lighter belly and neck. On the back is a chubary belt, or saddle. In winter, the hare brightens considerably (sometimes even turns white), but never becomes completely white. The color of the winter attire largely depends on the permanent habitat: on whether it is open snow-covered fields or dark weeds. The undercoat is pronounced, with a slightly curly outer hair. The long hind legs are covered with dense, close-fitting hair of medium hardness. The running speed of the hare is higher than that of the hare, and reaches 50 km / h. Rusak is originally a steppe animal, but it is also widespread in the forest-steppe zone. With the development of agriculture and in connection with deforestation, the range of the hare has expanded significantly.

Tails of hares: a) hare b) hare

A lot of hares settle along the edges of forests and in bushes. Rusak leads a settled way of life, stubbornly preferring the places where he was born. The hare lies down for the night within a radius of 400 m from the former lair, and, only repeatedly frightened by the persecution, he leaves these places forever. Frightened, for example, on the stubble, the hare will not return here the next day, but will lie down in the forest belt or forest plantations, but in a day it will be in the same place. In the steppe zone, in fodder winters, hares sometimes massively migrate to looking for food. As long as the height and looseness of the snow cover allow, the hare will feed on winter crops. With a strong crust or very high snow cover, it becomes a pest of garden trees or fattening along the edges of forest belts and forests. With the onset of a thaw, it returns to its favorite food. It lies down on hard ground without making a den, but in loose ground it digs a hole about 8 cm deep and lies down with its head on its outstretched forepaws and ears flattened. Delicate hearing allows him to constantly monitor the environment.

Lair of the steppe hare: a) in section; b) top view

During the summer, the hares have up to four broods in the south, three in the middle lane, to the east - no more than two. Bunnies of spring litter are called nastoviks, summer ones are called spikelets, late summer and early autumn are called deciduous ones. Broods are small - 2-4 hare. They are born in a small depression, natural or made by a hare, very developed, with open eyes. The mother stays with them for a very short time, feeds them with thick, fatty milk, and leaves them for several days. If another nursing hare stumbles upon the cubs, she will feed them, and in general, the number of feedings before feeding on green food is minimal. Young hares still live close to each other for a long time. They become fully grown by 15 months, although they are able to reproduce earlier. Life expectancy is 7-8 years. The rut begins in the middle of winter, the males are very excited at this time, they run a lot in search of a female, and, having gathered near her several individuals at a time, they arrange “dances” and duels: they stand on their hind legs and “box” each other with their front ones. A hare's pregnancy lasts 45–50 days. The ability to confuse tracks in hares is innate, but the ability to adapt and gain experience is also great. Seasoned hares become almost arrogant: they distinguish a hunter from a pedestrian, a tied dog from a dog running free, while the young are very cautious and too shy, often even to their own detriment. This explains the large screening of the hare in the first year of life. Rusak is not too prone to disease. Working collective farmers, cars, tractors, hares quickly cease to be frightened. Running away, they sometimes try to determine the situation: they sit down or, standing on their hind legs, look around. A hare who has been under the greyhounds at least once will never do this again. In the literature there is an example of the unusual behavior of a hare: running away from the greyhounds, he can push another hare off the bed and lie down in his place if the dogs are not very close. Both young and mature hares avoid approaching forest plantations during heavy leaf fall, as the noise of the leaves prevents them from hearing the approaching enemy.
They also don’t like the water dripping from trees and tall bushes, so after the rain he tries to find a dry place. In very cold springs with heavy rains, the hares of the first litter may die, and then in the fall the small number of hares becomes very noticeable, but still the fluctuation in the number of the hare is less pronounced than that of the hare, which is very prone to epizootics in rainy years.

The white hare can also reach 70 cm in length, but its weight does not exceed 5.5 kg (average weight 2.5–3 kg). The ears are not too long with black tips, which remain so even with a white winter outfit.
In summer, the hare is even darker than the hare and has a dirty brown-reddish color with a light belly; there is no blackness on the tail. In countries with a pronounced maritime climate, the white hare does not turn white, since there is little snow and it does not lie for long.
It leads a purely forest lifestyle, but does not clog in the thickets, preferring sparse deciduous forests and forests, interspersed with clearings, burnt areas and glades, although it tries not to go out into open places, except for hiking in the threshing floor, in gardens and orchards.
In the middle of summer, it sometimes lies down on a field of unharvested cereals, but near a saving forest. He enters the fields of winter crops, which he loves no less than a hare. In the forest, it feeds on foliage, tree shoots, and herbaceous plants. Favorite tree is aspen.
Although the white hare runs slower than the hare, its hind legs are larger and more powerful relative to the body, the paws of the hind legs are wider and the hair on them is stiffer than that of the hare. This is explained by the fact that in the forest the snow is looser - the necessary wider "skis".

Traces of hares: a) hare; b) hare

For daytime rest, he chooses strong places, except for periods of leaf fall and drops, when he prefers to lie down in an open place. Especially active in the early morning hours. The hare's hearing is exceptionally developed, but his eyesight and sense of smell are not very good. He may not find a quietly standing person. In the spring, after a hunger strike, they accumulate in clearings with young grass, which they eat with greed, while losing their vigilance. The rut is violent, and fights often occur between males. In the tundra, a hare has only one litter, but up to 7 rabbits, and in the middle lane and to the south - 2–3, but there are 2 times fewer rabbits in each litter. Hares are sighted and independent already at birth, covered with thick hair, grow very quickly and are able to run quite fast. The brood stays close to the mother, and it happens that the hare, like birds, takes the predator away from the hares, simulating a wound. Already at the end of the first week of life, hares begin to eat grass.

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