Image © Elliot Neep
Early spring is the best time to see the fastest land mammal in the country, the brown hare.
Get up early to increase your chances of finding a boxing match
Reaching speeds of 40 miles per hour at full pelt, the brown hare is one of our great athletes, easily able to outpace Usain Bolt. The brown hare’s great speed can make it a tricky character to get a good look at. Luckily, “mad March hares” choose a different sport in the spring, taking up boxing instead of sprinting. The pugilists are actually the females, spurning the advances of amorous males by boxing their prospective partners. With their activity much more noticeable before the grass and crops have grown up to their full height, it is not surprising that the “mad March hare” has come to have such a strong connection with the spring. The pagan festival of the spring equinox took its name from the Teutonic goddess of the dawn, Eostre, whose sacred animal was the hare. Despite rumours to the contrary, the Easter Bunny who will be visiting us later in the spring is not a rabbit but a hare.
How to do it
Changes in agriculture have seen a dramatic decline in hare numbers. The best places to look are open grassy or arable fields, particularly near to woodland fringes or decent hedgerows where hares can find shelter. Get up early to increase your chances of finding a boxing match, and stay down wind to avoid your scent giving you away. And leave the dog at home!
If you can’t get to the special places listed below… Don’t worry; the Easter Bunny will come to you! Just don’t eat all that chocolate at once…
Special spots
The great flat expanses of the Fens are as good a place to spot boxing hares as any: try visiting the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust reserves at Willow Tree Fen or Baston Fen and check the fields in between the two.
Derbyshire, Woodside Farm
Devon, Meeth Quarry
Durham, Rainton Meadows
Essex, Blue House Farm
Lancashire, Brockholes
Norfolk, Upton Broad and Marshes
Sussex, Malling Down
Brown hare © Don Sutherland