THE EUROPEAN HARE (LEPUS EUROPAEUS PALLAS) 
IN NORTH AMERICA 1 
By James Silver 
Biological Assistant , Division of Economic Investigations, Bureau of Biological 
Survey , United States Department of Agriculture 
Complaints of serious injury to young fruit trees in the Hudson River Valley 
of New York by European hares ( Lepus europaeus Pallas), 2 locally known as jack- 
rabbits, led to an investigation of the situation by the Bureau of Biological Survey, 
United States Department of Agriculture, beginning in 1916. The writer was first 
detailed on this work in the fall of that year and at that time gathered considerable 
information relative to the introduction, habits, distribution, abundance, and eco¬ 
nomic status of these animals. A second visit to the infested area was made in 
January, 1918, to develop means of control. In January, 1922, letters of in¬ 
quiry were sent to State and Federal game officials to collect further information 
regarding the spread of these hares and their effect on horticulture. The 
facts gathered leave no doubt that these animals are firmly established on this 
side of the Atlantic and that they are steadily increasing in numbers and grad¬ 
ually widening their range. 
HABITS 
The European hares are very similar in habits to our western jack rabbits. 
Except for the well-known scream of fear and a faint cry sometimes used by the 
doe in calling her young, they are remarkably silent. 3 They seldom make use 
of burrows in the ground or of other places of concealment, but rely for protec¬ 
tion either on escaping notice by remaining motionless, or, if detected, on their 
speed. They spend the day in slight depressions, or forms, only partially con¬ 
cealed in a clump of grass or in weeds or brush, but always in a location where 
their view or hearing is not cut off and from which they can make a quick “ get¬ 
away.” Once started they avoid thickets and make off in the open, depending 
upon their speed and dodging ability, almost entirely, to escape dogs, although 
sometimes they are credited with resorting to various tricks to accomplish this. 
Their speed exceeds that of an ordinary dog, although some hounds can 
easily overtake them, and their habit of keeping to the open affords opportunity 
for observing their rate of travel. Near Lagrange, N. Y., two men reported on 
numerous tests which they made of this rate of speed whenever they “jumped” 
hares on the road in front of their automobile. Pressing a hare to its top speed 
along the road and with an eye on the speedometer they found that the hare 
traveled at an average rate of 30 to 33 miles per hour. In like manner they 
found that their collie dog was capable of making close to 30 miles per hour but 
could never summon the extra burst of speed necessary to catch the hare. 
1 Received for publication Apr. 16, 1924—issued November, 1924. 
2 The European hare resembles closely the black-tailed jack rabbits of the western United States,having 
the characteristic long ears, much longer than the head, with a black area on the upper surface near the 
tips, and a conspicuous black area on the upper surface of the tail. It is much larger than our black-tail, 
an average adult weighing from 8 to 10 pounds or more, and reports of their weighing as much as 16 pounds 
are on record. The general color of the pelage on the upper-parts is a grizzled, buffy brown; the under¬ 
parts are white except on the breast, which is a decided reddish buff. 
3 Millais, J. G. the mammals of great Britain and Ireland. 3v.,illus. London. 1904-6. 
Journal of Agricultural Research, 
Washington, D. C. 
(1133) 
Vol. XXVIII, No. 11 
June 14,1924. 
Key No. Q-4 
