34 A. L. V. Manniche. 



catch them in a catcher, let them loose again after having kept 

 them in my hands, catch them again a. s. f. all provided, that I did 

 not frighten the animals or make them uneasy by my arrival or by 

 a sudden noise or quick movement. While the hares were searching 

 for food on the side of the fell or in the more luxuriant ravines, 

 they executed the funniest plays. Sometimes one pursued another a 

 long way on the fell until the pursued hare at last performing a 

 high jump dropped down just behind the pursuer and then hastened 

 back to the flock; sometimes the grazing animals would sneer at 

 each other and lay the ears backwards just as snappish horses. At 

 one place male and female were sitting licking and scratching each 

 other with their fore paws until they were disturbed by their com- 

 panions, which were sitting or jumping around. The hares slake 

 their thirst by taking a mouthfull of snow now and then. The 

 hares free themselves from loose tufts of hair by rolling in the 

 frozen snow. (The moult had at this season already begun.) The 

 ears and nose were in continuous motion, and nothing — which to 

 any degree could be considered dangerous — escaped their atten- 

 tion. Suddenly the animals one and all would rush together listening 

 and watching to all sides; but just in the next moment they were 

 quiet again and continued their chewing willow stalks and roots, 

 which were still hanging out of their mouths. 



If the hares had once become confident in my presence, they 

 did not care for it later on, and I could make every kind of noise 

 in their presence. I even tried to fire a shot, but this did not im- 

 press the hare flock much; only those individuals, which were oc- 

 cupied by chewing, stopped their activity for some few moments. 



The dark coloured pairing limb of the male was at this season 

 nearly always to be seen, even when the animals were asleep. The 

 alpine hare does not yield any other sound, than that disgusting 

 crj', which the wounded animal utters when captured; this is quite 

 like the cry of the European hare. By the numerous examinations 

 of killed hares which I undertook at every season of the year, it 

 became evident, that this species only breeds once in the year in 

 those stretches of land, through which the expedition passed; this 

 fact could be anticipated on account of the climatic conditions of 

 the country. 



More or less developed embryos could be found from ultimo 

 May till the middle of June — in a few animals some days later. 



The number of embryos was as a rule 6, seldom 5 or 7. 



One animal — shot at "Stormkap" on May the 31**^ and, as far 

 as I could judge, a very old one — contained but 2 embryos. 



The before named captured hare, which was caught on April 



