DESCRIPTION

Ears relatively short with black tip. Brown-gray back in summer, white in winter, spotted with brown and white during the transition period. His particularly hairy toes prevent him from sinking into the snow. Top of brown tail, white in winter. Especially active in the evening and in the morning. Be careful not to confuse it with the common hare which has longer ears and the top of the black tail.

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HABITAT

It inhabits the forests and pastures, from 1200 m and is found to the limit of eternal snow in the Alps, hence its German name of "Snow Hare". It remains absent from other French mountains, despite some attempts to acclimatize without success in the Western Pyrenees. The mountain hare is a game species.

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WAY OF LIFE

The mountain hare is not lonely and lives very often in community. It is a nocturnal and twilight animal. It moves very fast (60-70 km / hour), running and bounding. Pursued, it makes hooks. In summer, its coat is brown mixed with gray. In winter, it becomes white. Not bad as camouflage ! Too bad, the tips of his ears are black ! The mountain hare is also known as the whitecoat.

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FOOD

The mountain hare eats grass, plants and shrubbery. In summer his diet changes and he eats small evergreens and hardwood bark. Like the wild rabbit, it eats again some of its droppings (caecotrophies) that are soft, shapeless and emitted during the day (rest period).

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BREEDING

The female hare, like that of the brown hare, has a peculiarity: it can be fertilized a second time before birthing. It thus simultaneously carries the young people ready to be born and the embryos of the next brood. This phenomenon is called "superfetation". This explains the succession of litters in a shorter time than the duration of gestation. This high reproduction rate makes it possible to compensate losses due to predators, diseases, bad weather (harsh winters, cold and wet springs) and hunting. At the time of rut (spring) gatherings occur during which males fight for females.

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THREAT

The mountain hare has good adaptability. However, its area of ​​geographic extension is declining. It is difficult today to really specify the cause but the measures in favor of the hare undoubtedly pass by the preservation of its environment and its tranquility. Mountain hares are protected in the Vanoise National Park (a place of protection for 30 years). The mountain hare is hunted during a specific period.

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