Species Saturday Vol 13: Mountain Hare in Headlights

Happy Species Saturday! This week we are talking about the lovely Mountain Hares 🐇

🐇 The live in Scotland and the North of England
🐇 They have grey-brown coat all year round apart from winter when their coat turns white, with the tips of their ears staying black

🐇 These are a different species from brown hares who are larger with longer ears. The brown hare was actually introduced in Roman times and is now naturalised, but the Mountain Hare is actually native to the Scottish Highlands originally
🐇 Sadly, due to climate change, there is becoming a mismatch in timings when the mountain hares moult to white fur vs when there is snow coverage. The snow is melting far quicker and leaving the white hares exposed (like a rabbit in headlights!)

They are an at risk species in England, and populations in Scotland have seen a near 90% decrease over the years.

Info sourced from Wildlife Watch