208 THE BROWN HARE. 



is the hare that during such season hides deep 

 under the drifts. 



SWIMMING. 



Few people, perhaps, have seen a hare de- 

 liberately take to the water, for this animal 

 is no more partial to such an element than is 

 the cat ; yet a hare, hard pressed, will enter water 

 and swim for its life as readily as any other 

 creature. 



When fishing in the Galloway highlands, a 

 friend and I noticed a hare browsing on a point of 

 land jutting far out into the loch, so we promptly 

 cut off the only possible land retreat and began 

 to approach the animal. Speculation was rife 

 as to whether it would take to the water, or 

 whether it would try to dodge between us, which 

 it could easily have done without passing danger- 

 ously near. Finding itself in difficulties, the hare 

 ran backwards and forwards once or twice in 

 search of a dry way of escape, but discovering itself 

 marooned, it jumped unhesitatingly into the loch, 

 and struck out manfully for the nearest point, fully 

 ninety yards away. Its action in the water was 

 truly ludicrous, for it swam in a series of bounds, 

 propelled evidently by the hind -legs. At first 

 each stroke raised it head and shoulders out of 

 the water ; then it would sink back till almost 

 totally submerged ; but as the distance increased 

 the strokes became feebler and more erratic, till 

 we feared the poor beast would drown. It just 

 succeeded in getting across, however, but had the 

 water been really cold it would probably have 

 perished. 



I have at other times seen hares swim short 

 distances, but from the exhibition just described, 



