

ALPINE HARE. 121 



like that of a child in pain, and sportsmen have declared that 

 the pitifulness of it caused them to give up shooting Hares. 

 They have also a warning sound made by grinding the teeth, 

 and it is passed on from Hare to Hare, having the same result 

 as the stamping of feet by the Rabbit. The amorous notes of 

 buck and doe are different, and their imitation by poachers 

 and gamekeepers is known as Hare-sucking. 



The doe is a model mother for a time, and will fight 

 desperately in defence of her young ; but as soon as they are 

 capable of looking after themselves she casts them off or 

 deserts them. 



Alpine Hare (Lepus timidus^ Linn.). 



Alternatively known as the Scottish or Variable Hare, the 

 present species is intermediate in size between the Brown Hare 

 and the Rabbit. The first name has reference to the fact that 

 it is indigenous only in Scotland and the neighbouring isles. It 

 has been introduced into England and Wales, but except in 

 the northern counties and some of the Welsh mountains has 

 not established itself. The name Variable Hare denotes its 

 change of hue at the beginning of winter after the manner of 

 the Stoat. In Cheshire it is known as White Hare. Respecting 

 this winter whitening of the fur, fierce controversies raged for 

 many years ; one school contending that it was due to a com- 

 plete moulting of the summer fur, as a new growth without 

 colour was produced. The opposition claimed that there was 

 only one moult in spring to get rid of the too conspicuous 

 white coat as the snow with which it harmonised melted away. 

 They contended that the old hairs became altered individually 

 by the abstraction of pigment, or by the development of air- 

 bubbles. Evidence which was considered conclusive was brought 

 forward by both sides, and opponents remained unconvinced. 

 In the early days of the twentieth century, however, Metchnikoff 



