What is the difference between a wild hare and a rabbit? What is the difference between a hare and a rabbit: similarities and differences

The question of how a hare differs from a rabbit arises quite often. Assessing their appearance, one can note a fairly strong similarity. They are also united by common taste preferences. However, despite the fact that both the hare and the rabbit belong to the same order of lagomorphs, there are much more differences between these animals than similarities. It is them that will be discussed further.

The main features that confirm the fact that hares cannot be called rabbits and vice versa include such indicators as characteristic image life, the process of vital activity, habits and the process of raising offspring. Today, hares can be found on almost all continents. Animals were brought to other countries by Europeans who were exploring the oceans and new lands many years ago.

As for rabbits, the largest population of these animals is represented in North America. They also live in small numbers on the neighboring continent. But on the territory of Eurasia, their small number is completely compensated by hares.

Appearance

When assessing the appearance of animals, it is not immediately possible to understand exactly how they differ. After all, both types are characterized quite long ears, a small tail, strong lower limbs and a special shape of teeth. However, the hare is characterized by a much larger size. It is also worth noting that it changes its color depending on the time of year: in winter the animal’s fur becomes lighter, and in summer it becomes darker and more motley.

The most important difference is the limbs. In the hare they are stronger and longer, since the animal is forced to constantly move and covers quite significant distances for most of its life.

The rabbit is also characterized by relatively big ears, but they are more gentle and neat. This is due to the fact that the animal is much more often in confined spaces. In most cases, rabbits have short legs with powerful pads and claws that are ideal for making burrows.

Way of life

Meet at wild conditions It is simply impossible for a hare to choose to live with other individuals of its own species. This is due to the fact that they are loners. As for rabbits, they make homes for themselves in the form of burrows. Here animals live as whole families, spending a huge amount of time together. Rabbits are very attached to own houses and leave them only in emergency situations.

With an increase in offspring, rabbits constantly expand and improve their burrows, creating suitable conditions for offspring. As a result, their underground palaces resemble a very intricate system of labyrinths and passages. Here, each animal and its family has its own room.

Animal Reproduction

The process of reproduction is another difference that requires special attention. Hares are capable of producing offspring only under favorable conditions. weather conditions. That is why they reproduce exclusively from mid-spring until a serious cold snap, which occurs closer to the second part of autumn.

Considering the fact that rabbits use cozy burrows as homes and live in comfortable climatic conditions, it becomes quite obvious that they can reproduce all year round. The difference also concerns the period required for normal intrauterine development of the fetus. The birth of a new generation of hares occurs 45 days after the female is fertilized. As for female rabbits, a month is enough for them to achieve a similar result.

Relation to offspring

A huge difference lies in the condition of the offspring at the time of birth. Baby rabbits cannot do without their mother's care. They have no fur at all and cannot see or hear. The female rabbit is pre-preparing for the birth of the babies and is busy creating normal conditions for their growth and development in the burrow.

As for rabbit mothers, they do not take care of their own children. This is largely due to the fact that rabbits are born fully adapted to adult life. They have no problems with vision or hearing, and their bodies are completely covered with fur. Just a few days after birth, babies can eat solid food. They do not need any special care and adapt well to new conditions.

It should be noted that rabbits have an extremely developed maternal instinct, but they are only capable of caring for their own offspring. If a female rabbit encounters someone else's baby rabbit, which is more than 7 days old, she simply eats it. But an adult hare can feed someone else’s little bunny if she accidentally meets him. And this is another significant difference between a rabbit and a hare.

Behavior and character

Today you can meet rabbits not only on farms, but also in city apartments. These animals are accustomed to being quite calm and sedentary image life even in the wild. As a result, the very first attempts were crowned with success. As for hares, they are not tamed, but have attractive and valuable fur, which is widely used in the process of creating the most various products. Therefore, in order to obtain very tasty and healthy meat, as well as skin, hares are of interest for hunting.

At the same time, observing the hare and its behavior, it was possible to conclude that the animal is in no way adapted to life in captivity. All attempts to tame this beast did not bring positive results. In addition to the fact that hares are accustomed to free movement, they react extremely negatively to prolonged stay with other representatives of their species.

Photo gallery

Video “What are the differences between a hare and a rabbit”

The video shows many photographs of rabbits and hares, from which you can find out what main features distinguish these animals.

For most people, the answer to the question of how a rabbit differs from a hare is very simple: almost nothing, the first of them is a domestic animal, and the second is a wild one. In fact, these are completely different animals, although both wild hares and rabbits have a similar structure. The homeland of hares is the Eurasian continent, and they were brought to other continents by Europeans.

Rabbits, most likely, come from the North American continent. At least their bones were found there, dating back to the late Pleistocene (about 15,000 years ago). Their ancient ancestors were almost no different from modern wild rabbits. With the help of humans, they have now spread throughout the world, with the exception of Eurasia, where they are found only as pets.

Wild rabbits and hares have quite a lot in common:

• they belong to general squad lagomorphs;
• the hare and the rabbit are very similar in appearance;
• approximately the same food: grass, tree bark, tubers and vegetables;
• common opponents: predatory animals and birds, as well as humans;
• similar methods of defense: jumping, sudden change running directions, strikes with hind legs, bites.

This is what unites them. What is the difference between a rabbit and a hare?

Despite the external similarity, the biological difference between these animals, including the genetic one, is significant - they have large differences in their chromosome set. These differences are so great that crossing them with each other is impossible. Other differences are discussed in more detail below.

Differences in appearance and lifestyle

Despite the external similarity, the differences are quite noticeable:

• hares are larger than rabbits;
• If in hares the color changes to one degree or another during the year, then in rabbits it remains unchanged;
• hares, which are excellent runners, have stronger and longer legs, while rabbits living in burrows have short legs, with powerful claws;
• For the same reason, rabbits' ears are more tender and neat.

Their ways of existence are also different. Hares are solitary animals. They don't even live in pairs, let alone in flocks. And they live wherever they have to, unlike completely sedentary rabbits who dig holes for themselves. They spend most of their lives in them, constantly modernizing and improving. Rabbits leave their homes only in emergency situations. Their family ties are very strong.

Due to the fact that even in the wild, rabbits lead a calm and sedentary lifestyle, the very first attempts to domesticate them were successful. Today, many different breeds of these domesticated animals have been developed. Today, not only rural residents or farmers are involved in their breeding; rabbits can be found even in city apartments.

But all the numerous attempts to domesticate hares have not yielded positive results - this animal is not adapted to life in captivity. In addition, the animals, accustomed to moving freely, do not tolerate long-term coexistence with other hares. Therefore, the only way to get hare skin and meat is hunting.

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Reproduction and attitude towards offspring are the main differences

If hares breed for six months - from mid-April to mid-October, then rabbits have offspring all year round.

If hares breed for six months - from mid-April to mid-October, then rabbits produce offspring all year round. The duration of pregnancy is also different - a female rabbit has one month, and a female hare bears her cubs one and a half times longer.

These animals have different attitudes towards their offspring. The mother rabbit, whose babies are born helpless, naked, blind and deaf, feeds them for a long time and diligently cares for her babies. She does not accept other people's rabbits and can even eat them. In exceptional cases, foster children can be given to her, but their age must be at least about a week. As a rule, one female gives birth to several cubs at the same time.

Baby hares differ from young rabbits in that they are born almost fully formed - they see, hear, are covered with hair, and almost immediately can gradually eat food for adults. They begin to nibble grass 5-7 days after birth. A hare most often gives birth to one, less often two, hares.

Having fed her newly born baby with thick and nourishing milk, the mother often leaves him under the same bush where she gave birth and the little hare begins an independent life. When hungry, it begins to emit infrasonic vibrations, inaudible to predators or humans. But they are heard and understood by any hare running past, whose maternal instinct immediately kicks in. She finds the little hare, feeds him the same way as his mother, and then leaves him alone. And this is what any hare who has recently given birth does.

Thus, despite the fact that rabbits and hares belong to the same order, are similar in appearance, have not only common taste preferences, but also common enemies - these are different animals. And there are much more differences between these two types.

Rabbits and hares are very similar in appearance. Moreover, they belong to the same order - lagomorphs (and not rodents, as some mistakenly believe). For both of them, activity usually appears at dusk. Both of them feed on grass, tree bark, vegetables - depending on your luck. They escape from common enemies - predatory animals, birds, humans. Defense techniques for hares and rabbits are also similar - jumping, abrupt change directions; If necessary, they can kick or bite hard. However, there are differences here too: hares, as you know, are excellent runners, and rabbits run slower because hind legs theirs is much shorter than that of hares. Instead of running away at the sight of danger, they prefer to freeze. But if necessary, they can also strike, and as quickly as a hare, so catching a rabbit is not so easy.

With all his external resemblance Rabbits and hares are strikingly different in biology - so much so that they do not even interbreed, that is, they cannot produce offspring from each other. This is also determined genetically: hares have 24 pairs of chromosomes in their chromosome set, while rabbits have only 22.

Many people believe that the difference between hares and rabbits is that rabbits are domestic animals, while hares are wild animals. This is wrong. Domestic rabbits are the result of domestication of wild ones, which still live in Europe, North America and South-East Asia. By the way, all attempts to tame hares ended in failure.

Brown hare and European wild rabbit

• Hares are not tied to a specific territory; they do not build burrows. Rabbits dig holes and can live in the same hole for a long time.
• Rabbits live in colonies, with females giving birth to their young in burrows. Hares prefer to live alone - they become sociable only during the mating season.
• The legs and ears of rabbits are shorter than those of hares. Rabbits, as we said above, run slower than hares: if a hare is capable of speeds of up to 50-70 km/h, then a rabbit is only 20-25 km/h.
• Hares have seasonal molt: In winter the color of hares is white, in summer it is darker. Rabbits also molt twice a year, but their color does not change during molting.
• Hares and rabbits differ in the process of reproduction. Rabbits breed all year round, while hares breed only during the period favorable for breeding (it varies depending on the habitat; in Europe this is March-September). The pregnancy of a hare lasts up to 45 days, and a female rabbit - 1.5 less: up to 32 days (about 4 weeks).
• Bunnies are born with with open eyes, hearing, covered with fluff, fully formed, can almost immediately consume food from adult animals. Already on the 5-7th day they can nibble grass. Rabbits are born completely helpless - blind, deaf, naked and feed only on mother's milk for up to 4 weeks. TO independent life they become ready only on the 25th day.
• The mother rabbit carefully looks after her children. The hare comes to feed the bunnies once a day, or even may not appear for 4 days in a row! But if the rabbits are discovered by someone else's nursing hare, she will feed them. The mother rabbit feeds and cares only for her babies; even in captivity, it is usually not possible to provide the mother rabbit with other people's rabbits. Having smelled someone else's scent, the female rabbit usually eats the offspring!

05.10.2009

What is the difference between a rabbit and a hare?

Rabbits belong to the order Lagomorpha. Outwardly, they are similar to hares themselves, but there are a number of fundamental differences in behavior and biological characteristics, and as a result - in appearance.

Hares are animals that are practically not tied to territory; they do not build burrows; rabbits, on the contrary, are very territorial, they use the same hole for a long time, improving it from year to year, adding additional passages and rooms. Due to their burrow life, the ears and hind limbs of rabbits are shorter. Rabbits run slower than hares, but are also nimble. In case of danger, the animal begins to meander towards the hole.

Another characteristic difference in reproduction. Hares are born sighted and fully formed, and can almost immediately consume food from adult animals. Hares do not care for their babies, they only feed them; Moreover, hares feed not necessarily their own cubs, but simply any they come across. If a mother feeds someone else's baby, she can only hope that another hare will feed her little hare. It's different with rabbits; Baby rabbits are born naked, helpless with their eyes closed. The female rabbit feeds and cares only for her babies; even in captivity, it is usually not possible to provide the female rabbit with other babies. Sensing someone else's scent, the female rabbit usually eats the offspring.

Unlike hares, rabbits are easily tamed. All attempts to domesticate hares have led nowhere. Rabbits, on the contrary, reproduce well in captivity, quickly get used to people, and in addition, they are more fertile than hares.

And now a little history. The cultural keeping of rabbits, in comparison with other farm animals, began quite late. For comparison guinea pig the Indians domesticated the rabbit before the Europeans; (it’s not even worth talking about cows, sheep, horses, dogs, etc.). The Romans kept hares in enclosures for their sake. delicious meat and sport hunting, but the hares quickly withered away and did not reproduce. Then Roman soldiers from Spain brought wild European rabbit, which turned out to be simple to maintain and easy to breed. Naturally, they stopped keeping hares, replacing them with rabbits. At first, the rabbits reproduced on their own, i.e. uncontrollably. The monks changed a lot; they started keeping rabbits in cages. The interest of monasteries in rabbits is explained simply. During long fasts, the monks try to diversify their menu as much as possible, and they did not consider embryos and newborn rabbits to be meat. The monasteries distributed rabbits and as a result: already in the 16th century the breeds were known, and in the 18th century in Germany there were rules for trading rabbit products.

Despite the fact that hares and rabbits are different animals, even experts often call rabbits hares.

Author: Skoptsova T.I.
Position: Associate Professor, Department of Private Animal Science
Place of work: Federal State Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education "Velikolukskaya State Agricultural Academy"

As a rule, many of us, rabbits and hares, are mistakenly classified as rodents, and also think that the main difference between a hare and a rabbit is that a hare is a wild animal, and a rabbit is the same hare, only domesticated. There is, of course, some truth in this, however, not everything is as simple as it seems at first glance. Let's still figure out how rabbits differ from hares.

Main differences

Both animals belong to the order Lagomorpha, and both can be wild. The two animals have few similarities:

• Lifestyle and life process.
• Specifics of habits.
• Attitude to raising offspring.
• Physiological structure.
• Taste preferences.
• Common enemies.

This is probably all the similarities. But they have quite a lot of differences. First of all, it is worth noting the geography of distribution of these animals. So, for example, the hare is a solitary animal practically not tied to any specific territory. He lives wherever there is bushy vegetation, which serves him not only as a source of food, but also as shelter. Europeans, explorers of new lands and oceans, brought them to different countries, due to which it became so widespread.

There are much fewer rabbits, there are just over 20 species. Their main population lives in North America and Africa. Of course, they can be seen in other countries, but most likely as a pet.

How does a hare differ from a rabbit in appearance?

It would seem that both animals are very similar in appearance. The same long ears fluffy tail and fur. But despite this, there are still differences. As mentioned above, hares do not sit still and actively change their habitat. Due to their high mobility, they have much better developed limbs, and differ slightly large size. And the hare itself is naturally larger than a rabbit. The hare, unlike the rabbit, changes its color according to the seasons - by winter it molts and becomes white, and by summer it turns gray.

The difference between them is noticeable in behavior. The hare is more nervous, constantly afraid of something, distracted by something. He has well-developed organs of hearing, vision and smell. When faced with danger, he always runs away. Rabbit more calm and balanced. When he sees a wolf or a fox, he usually hides in a hole that is nearby; if there is none, he digs a new one in a matter of seconds.

Rabbits, even those that live in the wild, also have a calm character. They are easy to tame. Therefore, they can often be seen as a pet, and not only in farming, but also in ordinary apartment. It is impossible to tame hares, they are full-fledged wild animals, they cannot live in captivity, and therefore, at the first opportunity, they will run away into the forest, into their natural environment a habitat. However, they are still of great interest to humans.

Because they produce very valuable fur and very tasty and at the same time healthy meat. Therefore, they are constantly being hunted.

Offspring

It's no secret that both of them reproduce. Pregnancy period for a female rabbit it is 32 days, for a female hare it is one and a half times longer - 45 days. A female rabbit's litter averages 10-16 rabbits. Rabbits are homely animals and usually live in areas with the most favorable conditions, and improve them throughout their lives. In view of this, offspring are produced throughout the year. Hares breed only in favorable weather conditions, you can say how and where it is necessary.

Newborns baby rabbits are blind, deaf and hairless. The female rabbit feeds them for up to four weeks, after which they can move on to independent living. Also, female rabbits have an increased maternal instinct and, from the beginning of pregnancy, begin to prepare conditions for raising their offspring. However, despite their maternal qualities, they are very biased towards other people's rabbits, do not accept them, and in the end, they can simply tear them apart. Therefore, placing other people's cubs for feeding will not work.

Hares are the opposite of them. A hare's litter consists of 2-4 cubs. They are born fully formed: with fur, they see, hear and can feed on their own, even with the food of adults. For the first few days, the rabbits sit in a secluded place. The mother feeds them milk only once, then runs away, leaving her children to their fate, in the hope that a predator like a wolf or fox will not find them. When the cub gets hungry, it begins to emit infrasounds, which are clearly heard by female hares. And here we can only hope for luck, that another female will run nearby after giving birth recently and will be able to feed someone else’s bunny with milk.

Crossing hares and rabbits

Surely many people are interested in the question: is it possible to cross a hare and a rabbit? The answer will be clear. Cross representatives of these animals does not seem possible. The attempts of many breeders to improve the rabbit population have not yielded positive results.

In this case it all depends on genetic characteristics two animals. Rabbits have 22 pairs of chromosomes, and hares - 24. No one has yet succeeded in obtaining a hybrid of these two animals. It’s probably easier to cross a man and a monkey. In addition, the hare and rabbit have hostile feelings towards each other.

Let's summarize how to distinguish a hare from a rabbit:

That's probably all. Now you know how to distinguish two representatives of the order Lagomorpha.