What is the difference between a hare and a rabbit: what are the differences and similarities, comparison

Not everyone knows the difference between a hare and a rabbit. Indeed, these 2 types of animals are similar at first glance. But if you place a hare and a rabbit side by side, the differences between these animals will immediately become obvious. More than 25 species of wild rabbits and about 30 species of hares live in nature. Most species of wild rabbits live in North America and Africa; they are not found in Asia. They were introduced to Australia by humans in the mid-19th century.

Different types of rabbits, like types of hares, differ significantly in size, color and have distinctive features in their body structure. But there are also general differences between these two types. To understand the difference between a rabbit and a hare, you can compare the brown hare and the European rabbit.

Where do they live?

Many people are sure that a rabbit and a hare are the same animals, it’s just that the first is considered domestic, and the second is considered wild. In fact, these are completely different animals from the same family. Hares are exclusively wild, and rabbits live equally well both in their natural environment and next to people.

Contrary to popular belief, these animals are not considered rodents. They belong to a separate class of lagomorphs. Hares are distributed throughout the planet. These animals are only found in Australia. Moreover, on this continent there are many wild rabbits that annoy local farmers. They also pose a real threat to the environment.

To a greater extent, wild rabbits have become widespread in North America. At the same time, there are almost none of them in Eurasia. These animals became pets. In the natural environment, only hares are found here.

How to distinguish between rabbits and hares by appearance: a few simple rules

Even if you have not encountered this issue before, you need to clarify a few important points for yourself.

Differences in appearance that are visible to the naked eye:

In terms of weight and parameters, rabbits are much smaller than hares. This is especially noticeable if two representatives of the fauna are planted in front of you. There are exceptions, as in other orders of animals;
Hares have an excellent ability for self-defense - to change coat color. Depending on the time of year, you will find them white or grayish. Rabbits, unfortunately, do not have this function, so they more often become victims of hunters;
Rabbits have small, neat ears. This is argued by their lifestyle, because they spend most of their time in minks, where there is no opportunity for the growth and development of ears;
Hares have elongated legs that grow much faster and last longer. This is the best option for their activity.

Externally, if desired, it is enough to simply distinguish the two animals. All these signs can be easily explained by lifestyle, behavioral characteristics, and physical activity. Due to their constant search for food and their cowardly nature, hares manage to adapt to environmental conditions, which is facilitated by their body structure.

Hare

Differences in external data

Externally, rabbits and hares have similarities. Common features include long ears, powerful limbs, a short tail and a special teeth structure. However, there are many more differences. To understand them clearly, you should pay attention to the following features:

Rabbits are smaller in size.
Rabbits' coat color does not change throughout the season. At the same time, the hares change their cover. So, in spring and summer they are distinguished by gray fur, and in winter - white.
The ears of rabbits are smaller than those of hares. This is due to the fact that they lead a burrowing lifestyle. This forces animals to spend a lot of time in a small space.
The structure of the limbs is also different. Hares are forced to move a lot, which is why they are characterized by longer legs in comparison. At the same time, rabbits' paws are better adapted to the construction of burrows.

Is it possible to cross a hare with a rabbit?

Today it is clear that it is impossible to cross these species of animals, since they have differences in the genetic structure of the code. Despite the fact that these animals are very similar in appearance, experiments on inseminating rabbits with hares ended in nothing. Also, these animals do not get along together, are at enmity with each other, and show aggression. Hares have 24 chromosomes and rabbits 22, so crossing them is not possible. But the attempts do not stop, and some lovers of experiments continue to carry out them, but this ends in nothing. Therefore, if you want to have a rabbit, then you don’t need to try to get a hare from him. Thus, it turns out that despite some external similarities, animals of these species have a large number of differences in lifestyle and behavior.

Not everyone knows the difference between a hare and a rabbit. Indeed, these 2 types of animals are similar at first glance. But if you place a hare and a rabbit side by side, the differences between these animals will immediately become obvious. More than 25 species of wild rabbits and about 30 species of hares live in nature. Most species of wild rabbits live in North America and Africa; they are not found in Asia. They were introduced to Australia by humans in the mid-19th century. They are common on all continents where people live.

More than 25 species of wild rabbits and about 30 species of hares live in nature.

The first, most obvious difference is that the hare is much larger. The body length of an adult can reach 70 cm and weight exceed 7 kg. An adult rabbit rarely reaches a length of 45 cm, and its weight does not exceed 2.5 kg. The body of the hare is elongated, slightly compressed from the sides. The rabbit's body is compact and round.

The color of the hare changes depending on the time of year. In warm weather, it has an ocher-gray, brown or brown color. The winter color of the hare's coat is slightly lighter than the summer color. The mountain hare's motley summer outfit becomes snow-white by winter. All hares have black ear tips at any time of the year. The color of wild rabbits does not depend on the season and has a much greater number of color variations. Most of them are dark brown, but black, light gray, white, and piebald individuals are often found. Although the tips of many rabbits' ears are dark in color, this is not a necessary distinction.

The characteristic differences between these two species are the length and shape of the ears. The hare has wedge-shaped ears. Their length always exceeds the length of the head and can reach 15 cm. And these are not the longest ears. The antelope hare, which lives in Arizona and Mexico, has ears that grow up to 20 cm long. A rabbit's ears are rounded at the ends and are always shorter than the head. Their length does not exceed 7 cm.

There are noticeable differences in the shape of the limbs. The hare's legs, in proportion to the body, are much longer than the rabbit's legs. The length of the hind limbs significantly exceeds the length of the forelimbs. Therefore, the hare runs well uphill, but some of them have to go downhill somersaults. On its long, strong legs, the hare briefly accelerates to 70 km/h. The rabbit's speed will barely exceed 25 km/h.

Lifestyle Differences

Animals can also be distinguished by their lifestyle. Rabbits tend to dig holes. If animals live in one place for a long time, real tunnels form inside. Both adults and young animals live in such dwellings. Each new offspring has its own corner. Rabbits live exclusively in pairs. They leave their home only when danger approaches.

Hares do not lead a sedentary lifestyle. They form pairs only for a certain time for procreation.

Individuals are less sensitive to their place of residence. To give birth to offspring, females choose any secluded corner. Hares may well live in temporary dens or abandoned burrows.

The choice of location is influenced by weather factors and time of year. In rainy weather, animals prefer secluded corners, and in warm weather, they bask in sunny meadows. In hot weather, hares spend a lot of time in the lowlands. For wintering they choose hay.

Hares: description

Hares represent the family Lagoraceae, which in turn represents the order Lagomorpha. This order should include not only hares and rabbits, but also pikas. Hares are easily distinguished from other animals by the presence of relatively long ears, a very short tail and rather long hind legs, so hares mainly move by long jumps.

Appearance

Hares are small animals that do not have a powerful body. Only some of the adult individuals grow up to 67 cm in length and reach a weight of about 7 kilograms. The body of hares is small and, as it were, flattened on the sides, so it looks very thin and thin. Long ears with a unique elongated shape are considered a distinctive feature of these animals.

The length of the ears depends on the variety of hares, but they are never shorter than half the length of the head. Most varieties have ears pointed at the ends, while some species of hares, on the contrary, have ears rounded at the ends. The head of hares in relation to the rest of the body is small, and in shape it resembles an oval, which tends to narrow towards one end. The lip has a rounded shape and is divided into two parts by a characteristic groove.

It is important to know! The teeth of all lagomorphs are similar to the teeth of rodents, but there are some differences. They consist in the fact that the hare family has 2 pairs of incisors on the upper jaw, while the front pair is much better developed than the back one.

The teeth of hares, like those of rodents, grow throughout their lives, so they need to eat solid food components so that they can wear down naturally.

In large species of hares, the hind legs are almost a third longer than the front ones, but in small species they are almost the same. There are 5 toes on the front paws of these animals, but there can be 4 on the hind paws. The feet of these animals are quite long, and their soles are covered with hair. The claws are sharp and almost straight. This allows hares to protect themselves from predators and easily dig up snow in winter to get to various food items in the form of roots.

Almost all types of hares have a relatively small tail in the form of a pompom and at the same time practically invisible, no matter from which side you look at it. The body of these animals is covered with thick and soft fur. In this case, fur covers almost all parts of the body. Even the inner surface of the lips has a narrow strip of fur. Hares can have a very diverse coloring: there are gray hares, brownish, brownish, and also sandy. With the onset of winter, many species of hares change their coat color to white, which helps the animals to camouflage perfectly in winter conditions.

Behavior and lifestyle

These land animals lack many skills. They are not swimmers and cannot climb trees or rocks. They prefer to live, depending on the species, forming colonies, and can also lead a separate lifestyle. They remain active throughout the year, so they do not hibernate in winter.

They are mainly nocturnal, resting during the day in thick grass, thickets of vegetation or depressions in the ground. In winter, they can lie in a shallow hole under a layer of freshly fallen snow. They move using large jumps, reaching speeds of more than 60 km/h.

It is believed that hares do not have sharp eyesight, but their hearing and sense of smell are excellent. Hares are distinguished by great caution and use wait-and-see tactics, staying in shelter until the last moment. As a rule, the hare jumps out of cover suddenly, as a result of which the surprise factor is triggered, since the hunter or other predator simply does not have time to react in a timely manner. As a result, the hare runs away, remaining alive.

Interesting fact! The hare, running away from its pursuers, very skillfully confuses its tracks. He meanders, makes long jumps to the sides, and can also run in the opposite direction in his own tracks.

People consider hares to be cowardly precisely because these animals suddenly jump out literally from under the feet of a passing person and run away as best they can. In fact, this is not cowardice at all, but an opportunity to save one’s life or, in other words, to survive in such difficult natural conditions.

And yet, the hare is not quite a cowardly creature, as many people think, and is quite capable of standing up for itself. If the hare begins to understand that he will not escape the chase, then he lies down on his back and begins to beat his pursuer with his hind legs, which are quite developed and muscular. The blows are so strong and precise that the pursuer can receive fatal injuries. Any hunter knows that lifting a still living hare by the ears is very dangerous, since he can immediately receive several blows from the hind limbs, and quite strong ones at that.

How long does a hare live?

It is believed that in the natural environment a hare can live on average no more than 8 years. At the same time, many of the animals fail to achieve even such terms, since they die much earlier, if not from attacks by predators, then from shots from hunters. As a rule, many hares die, which are still defenseless against many, even small, predatory animals. If you keep hares in captivity, they can live more than 10 years.

Sexual dimorphism

It is quite difficult to distinguish a hare from a hare, especially since they do not differ in coat color. As a rule, the female is somewhat smaller in relation to the males. In addition, the shape of the head of a female hare is more rounded, while that of a male is more elongated and laterally compressed.

Journey to the animal kingdom. Fast legs, long ears: hares and rabbits

Comparison of behavioral characteristics

Animal behavior has many differences. Below is information on this:

Hares are characterized by high speed of movement. In addition, they have a nervous and hot-tempered character. Rabbits are considered calmer and more balanced.
When danger approaches, hares begin to run away because their legs are stronger and longer. In this case, the rabbit will immediately try to make a hole to hide from the predator.
Rabbits prefer to eat and rest. They can devote the whole day to these activities. Therefore, it is important to control the diet of pets.
Rabbits tend to be lazy. They can hardly be called shy. To escape from a predator, animals run in a straight line and hide in prepared holes.
Hares are predominantly nocturnal. Therefore, they are often called crepuscular animals. It is very difficult to meet such individuals during the day.
To escape from danger, hares follow a zigzag path. In this way they try to confuse the predator, throwing it off the scent.
Hares cannot be tamed. They simply run away into the forest or die in captivity. Rabbits are easily tamed and live close to people.

Habitat

The habitat of each hare is quite extensive, since, unlike rabbits, they do not dig burrows and live wherever they need to. At night, hares lead an active life, exploring large areas in search of food.

They do not establish permanent housing, but lie down to rest during the day in secluded places in dense bushes, in areas overgrown with weeds, or under blowing snow. They flee from danger, cleverly obfuscating their tracks. The young are born in any secluded place that the female finds.

The name Rabbit comes from the Polish word Krolik, which is a diminutive of Krol - king. Due to their rapid growth, reproduction, tasty meat, warm fur and low nutritional requirements, the poor population of Poland and throughout Europe considered rabbits to be the kings of farm animals. That's how the name stuck.

Rabbits prefer to live in burrows. One hole is used by a whole family, where there are young and adult animals. As necessary, the holes expand and new passages are formed.

Old rabbit holes, where many generations of the same family live, sometimes occupy an area of up to 1 hectare. Long-eared animals leave such comfortable housing when immediate danger arises.

Reproduction and care of offspring

The difference between animals also lies in the process of reproduction. Hares require a comfortable climate for this. Females reach maturity at 1 year. After this, they give birth up to 4 times during the year.

Pregnancy lasts 45 days. As a result, a maximum of 4 bunnies are born. At the same time, no more than 2 cubs are born in spring and autumn. They are born with fur. At the same time, newborns have vision and hearing. In addition, they can eat solid foods.

Rabbits are highly productive. The pregnancy of these animals lasts a little more than a month. Moreover, females can give birth for a whole year without taking a break for the winter. As a result of 1 pregnancy, 16 babies are born. Cubs are born without hair. They have no hearing or vision. For a month, the rabbits eat exclusively mother's milk. They become adults only after 25 days.

The animals in question care for their offspring in different ways. Hares often abandon their babies immediately after giving birth. They can leave them some milk and run away. Other rabbits who come to the sound are also capable of feeding the babies. After which they also run away. This is explained by the birth of hares from different females in a certain territory. At the same time, newborns do not have an individual smell. Therefore, female hares are not able to distinguish between their own cubs and strangers.

Female rabbits are characterized by a pronounced maternal instinct. They provide their offspring with careful care. Females prepare for childbirth in advance. This is manifested in the construction of the nest, which they construct from straw and down. At the same time, female rabbits, as a rule, do not care for other people’s cubs. They are even capable of killing a found rabbit. Rabbits have a unique smell. Therefore, the female easily distinguishes her cub from someone else’s.

Lifestyle

What type of life do eared animals lead, and how does a rabbit differ from a hare in this regard? Hares are solitary by nature. Individuals of this species living together are not found in nature. Females and males come together only during mating, after which they scatter. Hares do not have a permanent place of residence; they change it all the time. They find great pleasure in exploring new territories and moving from one place to another. Hares are afraid of people and avoid them. Hares breed under bushes or fallen branches because they do not have permanent housing.

Rabbits lead a sedentary life. They build their own “houses” or dig holes. Here they live with their family, gradually improving their home. Over time, they develop many moves in the form of labyrinths. Rabbits leave their apartments only forcibly when danger is imminent.

Spreading

Hares are found in different parts of the Earth. Most of these animals live on the European continent. However, they are completely absent from Australia. At the same time, wild rabbits are found here in large numbers. These animals pose a real threat to agriculture and the continent's ecological system.

The maximum population of wild rabbits lives in North America. There are many of them in South America too. Animals were brought to the continent by colonists from North America. Wild individuals are also found in other parts of the planet. But they are absent in Eurasia. This is due to the fact that all the animals here were tamed. Only hares are found in the wild.

Running ability

Hares are slightly larger than rabbits and have longer and more powerful hind legs. Because of this, no rabbit can match the speed of a hare. They are excellent sprinters and masters of strategic running: few people in the animal world can confuse their tracks so diligently.

Possibility of taming

An important difference between animals is that rabbits live well in captivity. They become an excellent object for selection and research. Rabbits were domesticated more than a thousand years ago. Today there are more than 60 breeds of these animals. They differ in different orientations - meat, decorative or downy.

At the same time, people failed to tame hares. These animals are considered very freedom-loving and are not able to live in captivity. As a result, they begin to get sick and simply die.

The most common types of hares

The snowshoe hare acquires a spotless white coat in winter, which makes it indistinguishable in the snow. In summer, the coat takes on a grayish color. Weighs on average 3-4 kg. According to the observations of zoo workers and rehabilitation centers, it has a calmer, melancholy disposition than the brown hare and is easier to tame.

Brown hare

the largest of all hares, can weigh 6-7 kg. In summer it wears brown fur, in winter it becomes lighter, but it cannot boast of such impeccable white fur as the hare. The character is more explosive and choleric, but tolerates stress more easily than the white hare.

Tolai hare

It looks like a hare, but is small in size (weighs 2-3 kg). It is distinguished by huge ears, larger than those of a hare.

Dwarf hare

This is exactly what they often offer to buy at a pet store. In fact, there are no dwarf hares, but this name is used by one of the oldest breeds of dwarf rabbits, which are also called Polish rabbits. The Red Book Patagonian pig, a rodent that has nothing to do with the hare family, but is similar in appearance, also claims the title of dwarf hare.

Is crossing possible?

Despite the common characteristics, hares and rabbits cannot be crossed. The cause is believed to be differences in the genetic code. Animals have different numbers of chromosomes. So, rabbits have a code with 22 chromosomes, and hares have 24. If hares are placed in the same room with rabbits, they will be at enmity.

Rabbits and hares are different animals that differ in many ways. They relate to appearance, habitat, habits, reproduction and care of offspring. Therefore, animals cannot be crossed.

What is the difference between rabbit meat and hare meat?

The differences between rabbit and hare meat are significant.
It has different taste and color. There are also differences in preparation. The meat of a hare is dark red, because this animal is hunted, and the blood does not have time to drain. Rabbit meat is pinkish in color because after slaughter it is hung to drain the blood. Before cooking, hare meat must be soaked and marinated; this is not necessary for rabbits. Hare meat is game, so some people find it tastier.

Comparison of hare and rabbit. Their difference is in appearance and behavior.

A person’s inquisitive mind often haunts its owner. This ability helps us to understand the world, to find common points and distinctive characteristics in the surrounding reality.

Animals are amazing creatures. Their species diversity is fascinating and attracts for detailed study.

Continuing the topic of identifying differences between similar species of animals and birds, let's talk in more detail about hares and rabbits.