Mountain Hare
I photographed this Mountain Hare in its white winter pelage in the West Yorkshire part of the Peak District National Park. The scientific name Lepus timidus means shy hare, because the usual view is of one running away. But they will sit very tight, relying on their camouflage until they feel it is time to run. But their camouflage is adapted for the higher mountains and more snowy climate of Scotland, and they stand out like a sore thumb when snow is not on the ground. That is because they were introduced to the Peak District in the nineteenth century from Scotland, and the lack of predators in the Peak District means there is little evolutionary pressure to benefit the ones that remain brown through the winter. In Ireland Mountain Hare is the native hare found throughout, in lowlands too. Here the Mountain Hares remain brown throughout winter.
Mountain Hare
I photographed this Mountain Hare in its white winter pelage in the West Yorkshire part of the Peak District National Park. The scientific name Lepus timidus means shy hare, because the usual view is of one running away. But they will sit very tight, relying on their camouflage until they feel it is time to run. But their camouflage is adapted for the higher mountains and more snowy climate of Scotland, and they stand out like a sore thumb when snow is not on the ground. That is because they were introduced to the Peak District in the nineteenth century from Scotland, and the lack of predators in the Peak District means there is little evolutionary pressure to benefit the ones that remain brown through the winter. In Ireland Mountain Hare is the native hare found throughout, in lowlands too. Here the Mountain Hares remain brown throughout winter.