June 14, 1924 
The European Hare in North America 
1135 
The most notable spread of the hares has been eastward into Massachusetts 
and Connecticut. One report states that hares have recently been seen as far 
east as Stratford, Conn. Another report has them in the vicinity of Stafford, 
in north central Connecticut, but as there is doubt as to the identity of the 
animals, this record is omitted from the map. In 1915 a hare was shot as far 
north as Fair Haven, Vt., by the State Fish and Game Commissioner, but as 
no others have since been seen this far north, the Massachusetts-Vermont line 
may be considered the northern limit at present (1924). 
A very few hares are reported in southern New Jersey, in Salem and Cumber¬ 
land Counties. Although the report is not sufficiently definite for mapping, it 
Fig. 1.—Distribution of the introduced European hare (Lepus europaeus Pallas) in the United States. 
may be accepted, for, according to reliable information, the hares have been 
working south from the vicinity of Jobstown in recent years. 
Samuel N. Rhoads, in 1903, reported upon the distribution of this hare in 
New Jersey as follows: 6 
This animal, escaped from domestication, has now become scattered oyer 
many localities in the northern half of New Jersey, especially in the pa ts radiating 
from Columbus. * * * It is now found sparingly in the wild parts of Camden 
and Burlington Counties, N. J., and is regularly hunted in Bucks County, Pa., 
during the game season. 
* Rhoads, S. N. the mammals of Pennsylvania and new jersey. 266 p., illus. Philadelphia. 
1903. 
