The terrestrial mammals and birds of North-East Greenland. 33 



The hare especially searches for this kind of food in moisty 

 places as for instance in certain mountain clefts, covered with 

 turfy ground. 



The alpine hare also likes to eat the upper parts of Salix as 

 well as Saxifraga and a few other mountain plants. 



When in winter there is a want of other food, it must be con- 

 tent with moss and Avithered grass. 



One captured alpine hare, which I brought on board the vessel, 

 ate immediately and without any sign of fear those willow roots 

 and twigs, which I handed it. It also ate white bread, but refused 

 most part of those plants, which I carried home for it; only Salix 

 and Saxifraga oppositifolia were accepted by the animal. 



Crusted snow, through which the hare is not able to penetrate 

 with the fore legs or the nose in usual way, is forced in the fol- 

 lowing manner: Having first — by aid of its surprising sharp sense 

 of smell — assured itself where the food can be found, the hare 

 hammers its fore limbs against the snow crust in rapid strong beat- 

 ings until the crust breaks all over. The animal can then by aid 

 of its nose and nails remove the subjacent loose snow and get at 

 the desired food. 



I have also seen hares, which, having drummed through the 

 icy snow crust, remove larger pieces of broken ice by means of 

 the mouth in order to make better room to go on with their 

 work. 



The peculiar sound, which the hare produces by the said beating 

 or drumming against the snow crust reminds you of distant rolls. 



Characteristic to the alpine hare is its pronounced tendency for 

 sociability. 



Though this social propensity never quite disappears, it will 

 be less evident in summer — June & July — when the fells are 

 quite bare of snow, and the white animals fully deprived of their 

 natural protection. The hares showed at this season a remarkable 

 fear of human approach, and sometimes they were so shy, that 

 one could not get them within rifle range. 



In the pairing time — April and the first days of May — quite 

 the opposite is the case. 



The hares assembled in greater parties containing some 15 to 

 20 individuals, and they proved so confident, that they — by a 

 proper mode of proceeding — could be treated just as tame animals. 



Thus I could every day — on the before-named "Harefjeld" in 



the neighbourhood of the ship's-harbour — go among the hares as 



among a flock of pigs; I could touch them with the tips of my 



fingers, get them to eat a willow root, which I held out to them, 



XLV. 3 



