Mountain Hare (1 Viewer)

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Swannery Steve

Well-known member

• Sep 10, 2017

• #1

Question...I think I'm right in saying that in Ireland, where the Brown Hare never really became established the Mountain Hare (Irish Hare) has a wide distribution from mountains to sea level. In Britain the latter is restricted to northern uplands. Was this always the case and the introduced Brown Hare filled a vacant niche or did the latter out-compete the indigenous specious at lower levels?

Steve.

 

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Julian Perry

Active member

• Sep 11, 2017

• #2

I don't know if you have seen the following article, but it provides a very good overview of the subject:

https://www.researchgate.net/profil..._europaeus/links/548b0fb50cf214269f1dce90.pdf

 

Farnboro John

Well-known member

• Sep 11, 2017

• #3

Very strong suggestions that the Brown Hare is implicated in declines, if I read it right.

John

 

Nutcracker

Stop Brexit!

• Sep 11, 2017

• #4

Gamekeepers are a far greater threat to Mountain Hares

https://raptorpersecutionscotland.w...r-ban-on-grouse-moor-mountain-hare-slaughter/

 

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Swannery Steve

Well-known member

• Sep 11, 2017

• #5

Thanks Julian. Very interesting. Thanks to John & Nutcracker too. Though I was all to aware of the grouse moor 'cullings'.

 

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Sangahyando

Well-known member

• Sep 12, 2017

• #6

Nutcracker said:

Gamekeepers are a far greater threat to Mountain Hares

https://raptorpersecutionscotland.w...r-ban-on-grouse-moor-mountain-hare-slaughter/

Click to expand...

In the UK, yes, but probably not elsewhere. Unless you want to subsume the people who historically introduced the Brown Hare in Sweden, Finland, and the British Isles under the category "gamekeepers" as well.

 

Andy Adcock

Worst person on Birdforum

• Sep 12, 2017

• #7

A slight tanget but where is the European, Northernmost cut off point for Rabbits, there are no Rabbits in St Petersburg at all but we do have Hares.


A

 

jurek

Well-known member

• Sep 12, 2017

• #8

Julian Perry said:

https://www.researchgate.net/profil..._europaeus/links/548b0fb50cf214269f1dce90.pdf

Click to expand...

Does not seem to work on a local scale. Mountain hare apparently recently became quietly extinct in northern Poland, but this happened during the time brown hare considerably decreased, too.

 

Nutcracker

Stop Brexit!

• Sep 12, 2017

• #9

andyadcock said:

A slight tanget but where is the European, Northernmost cut off point for Rabbits, there are no Rabbits in St Petersburg at all but we do have Hares.
A

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This shows roughly, but not sure how accurate it is:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oryctolagus_cuniculus_distribution_Map.png

 

Andy Adcock

Worst person on Birdforum

• Sep 12, 2017

• #10

Nutcracker said:

This shows roughly, but not sure how accurate it is:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oryctolagus_cuniculus_distribution_Map.png

Click to expand...

Too cold in winter?

I can never get used to seeing so much arable and unused, agricultural land here in Russia with zero rabbits.

A

 

Nutcracker

Stop Brexit!

• Sep 12, 2017

• #11

andyadcock said:

Too cold in winter?

I can never get used to seeing so much arable and unused, agricultural land here in Russia with zero rabbits.

A

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I'd guess yes, though perhaps also flooding issues with spring snowmelt might be a limiting factor stopping them cross the plains of NE Europe - difficult to dig burrows in flat land prone to floods!

 

Andy Adcock

Worst person on Birdforum

• Sep 12, 2017

• #12

Nutcracker said:

I'd guess yes, though perhaps also flooding issues with spring snowmelt might be a limiting factor stopping them cross the plains of NE Europe - difficult to dig burrows in flat land prone to floods!

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Hmm,
we do get plenty of snow but rarely, if ever, flood. This is mainly due to the fact that St Petersburg sits atop a huge swamp which just soaks up massive volumes of water. Even in summer, we have regular, monsoon like deluges and never flood.

I suppose that a rabbit may not thrive or even survive under 2m of snow but Hares do?


A

 

Warixenjalka

Birdwitcher

• Sep 20, 2017

• #13

andyadcock said:

A slight tanget but where is the European, Northernmost cut off point for Rabbits, there are no Rabbits in St Petersburg at all but we do have Hares.


A

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Helsinki has small feral population.

 

Andy Adcock

Worst person on Birdforum

• Sep 20, 2017

• #14

Warixenjalka said:

Helsinki has small feral population.

Click to expand...

Thanks, as Nutty says, it must be the swampy land they can't survive in?


A

 

MarkHows

Mostly Mammals

• Sep 20, 2017

• #15

Warixenjalka said:

Helsinki has small feral population.

Click to expand...

As does Reykjavik

Mark

 

Andy Adcock

Worst person on Birdforum

• Sep 20, 2017

• #16

MarkHows said:

As does Reykjavik

Mark

Click to expand...

We have a great amount of arable land around us and not a Rabbit to be seen.

I've never been anywhere, that has such a large amount of unused land, there must be hundreds of thousands of acres of land, probably millions, that is just used to grow grass which is mown and presumably used to feed livestock somewere but no rabbits. The down side to this is that they often mow the grass when ground birds are nesting, it must be carnage. Lapwings, Skylarks, Corncrakes, Ruff, and Short-eared Owls are probably all decimated


A

 

Last edited: Sep 20, 2017