From the Archives…. BY THE LATE MICHAEL F. TWIST
THE BEAUTY & MYSTIQUE OF HARES
T
he advent of spring, away back in the 30s, when, as a lad, I was free to roam some 1700 acres, an agricultural estate my father managed, was always an exciting period as the countryside came to life after the winter months. There was so much to do, so much to watch and, in those days there was time to do it, for the rhythm of life was not geared to obsessions for sitcoms on television, or serials on the radio. Life, at least in the country, whilst often hard, was for living, enjoying God's gifts and the wonders of nature. I would watch anxiously for the first signs that winter was coming to an end. Like rooks gathering twigs with which to refurbish their nests and blue bells pushing up shoots through a carpet of leaves in the woods, but most of all I watched for the antics of the so-called mad March hares - appealing and fascinating creatures, unique amongst our British mammals. Of course they aren't mad, their boxing, kicking, jumping, running are the males fighting for the attention of a doe, but it is not always the bucks that fight. Does too become involved in fisticuffs, not against each other, but with over amorous males, who frequently have a pretty rough time of it before mating takes place, as the does are bigger and
more powerfully built than their suitors. Although a doe may breed three or four times in a year, there is no permanent pairing. Hares can, at times, be very promiscuous and, when ready, a doe may be served by two, three even four bucks in quick succession. The gestation period is thirty days and a litter is usually from two to six leverets, but litters of eight have been recorded. Normally a doe gives birth out in the open, frequently in a field of winter corn if available, or some similar terrain. Quickly after giving birth the doe makes a form for each of her young and carries them, as a cat does a kitten, to these. She will return every night to suckle her babies up to an age of three to four weeks, by which time the leverets are completely independent. To my mind and to those of hundreds of others, leverets are by far the most beautiful young of any of our indigenous mammals, for unlike rabbits, rats, mice, voles, they are born with hair and their eyes open. True, this can be said of fawns, but it normally takes them twenty or so minutes to get to their feet and, when they do, their gate is, to say the least, somewhat wobbly for some hours; whereas a leveret can run within minutes of arriving in this world.
Along the edge of a hundred acre field, I spied a gathering of hares On many, many occasions I have watched the mating display of hares, but one in particular remains clearly etched into my memory, although it must now be more than sixty years ago. One afternoon in late March I was walking along the edge of a hundred acre field, when I spied a gathering of hares, 1 counted nine, within yards of a belt of trees that had been planted right across the field some ten years previously. I quickly realised that if 1 made my way quietly up the belt the wind was blowing from them and so, if I was very quiet, 1 had a good chance of getting really close. I ran the first part of my journey, being out of sight of the hares. Speed was important, for they would not be long before they moved, then almost crept for the last forty to fifty yards. Luck was with me, the group had moved, but even closer to my eventual vantage point amongst the trees and shrubs. I had been right in my count, nine, but only eight were taking part in the 'ballet', although this is perhaps not a true description, for it was in fact a fierce fight, for the favours of a doe who watched from the sidelines. It was an
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