BRITISH MAMMALS 



If one examines the tracks of a running Hare or Rabbit in the snow, it will 

 be seen that the hind feet touch the surface well in front of the fore feet, 

 owing to the forward swing of the former when the animal is moving fast. 



From ancient times the Hare has always been considered as one of 

 the animals which chew the cud, but the late Mr. Robert Drane of Cardiff, 

 who made a close study of this species in captivity, states [Trans. Cardiff 

 Naturalists Society, vol. xxvii, part ii. 1894-95) that his "own belief 

 is that not only does the Hare never chew the cud, but that he cannot. 

 The Hare has a habit when at rest, as when sitting in its form, of 

 grinding its teeth, probably to keep them in order. May not this 

 be the origin of the assumption that it is chewing the cud ? " According 

 to this authority, the food is passed a second time through the body. 



The Common Hare is widely distributed over Europe as far north 

 as Scandinavia and Northern Russia and eastwards to the Caucasus. 

 In Great Britain, where it is said to differ slightly from the Continental 

 form, it is plentiful about cultivated ground, especially grasslands, when 

 not driven away by the persecution of man. 



This species, though not a native of Ireland, has been introduced there 

 at different times. 



It has also been established in the Shetlands, Orkneys and some of 

 the Western Isles of Scotland. 



Before the passing of the Ground Game Act in 1880, Hares appear 

 everywhere to have been much more numerous than they are to-day. 



As a rule they prefer the lower cultivated lands and grassy downs, 

 but they will often ascend the higher hills, as in Perthshire, where 

 according to Mr. Millais, he has frequently seen and shot them at an 

 altitude of about fifteen hundred feet above Pitlochry. 



Except in the breeding season, Hares are usually unsociable in habits, 



differing in this and in many other ways from Rabbits. 



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