European hare
Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778
The European hare (Lepus europaeus) is a medium-sized mammal of the family Leporidae in the order Lagomorpha. It is a nocturnal, terrestrial herbivore whose main foods are carrot, papaver rhoeas, soybean, sugar beet, trifolium, weed and winter wheat.
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Quick facts about the European hare
Adults weigh 3.74 kg, and lifespan values reach up to 12 years. Gestation lasts 42 days, litters average 2.44 young with 3.75 litters per year, and the species is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
- Weight
- 3.74 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 10.7 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 12 years
- Main food
- carrot, papaver rhoeas, soybean, sugar beet, trifolium, weed and 1 moresrc for Main food
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 41 days – 43 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2.44src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 7.48 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 3.75src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- 1 countrysrc for Countries on record
Photos of the European hare
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the European hare live?
Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.
The European hare is listed for 1 country.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
What is the European hare?
The European hare (Lepus europaeus), also known as the brown hare, is a species of hare native to Europe and parts of Asia. It is among the largest hare species and is adapted to temperate, open country. Hares are herbivorous and feed mainly on grasses and herbs, supplementing these with twigs, buds, bark and field crops, particularly in winter. Their natural predators include red foxes and large birds of prey. They rely on high-speed endurance running to escape predation, having long, powerful limbs and large nostrils.
Generally nocturnal and shy in nature, hares change their behaviour in the spring, when they can be seen in broad daylight chasing one another around in fields. During this spring frenzy they sometimes strike one another with their paws ("boxing"). This is not just competition between males: females may also hit males, either to show they are not ready to mate or to test the males' determination. The female nests in a depression on the surface of the ground known as a form rather than in a burrow, and the young are active as soon as they are born. Litters may consist of three or four young and a female can bear three litters a year, with hares living for up to twelve years. The breeding season lasts from January to August.
The European hare is listed as being of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature because it has a wide range and is moderately abundant. However populations have been declining in mainland Europe since the 1960s, at least partly due to changes in farming practices. The hare has been hunted across Europe for centuries, with more than five million being shot each year; in Britain it has traditionally been hunted by beagling and hare coursing, but these field sports are now illegal (though illegal hare-coursing continues). The hare is a traditional symbol of fertility and reproduction in some cultures and its courtship behaviour in the spring inspired the English idiom mad as a March hare. Female hares are known as does, while juveniles are leverets.
From the Wikipedia article “European hare” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=European_hare&oldid=1382056242), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the European hare endangered?
The European hare is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the European hare classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderLagomorpha
- familyLeporidae
- genusLepus
- SpeciesLepus europaeus Pallas, 1778
Synonyms Leppus europaeus, Lepus aquilonius, Lepus campestris, Lepus campicola, Lepus capensis astaricus, Lepus capensis europaeus, Lepus caspicus, Lepus cyanotis, Lepus europaeus biarmicus, Lepus europaeus borealis, Lepus europaeus carpathous, Lepus europaeus caspicus, Lepus europaeus caucasicus, Lepus europaeus ghigii, Lepus europaeus iranensis, Lepus europaeus meridiei, Lepus europaeus niethammeri, Lepus europaeus pyrenaicus, Lepus europaeus tesquorum, Lepus europaeus transsylvaticus, Lepus hispanicus, Lepus karpathorum, Lepus meridionalis, Lepus occidentalis, Lepus pyrenaicus, Lepus tesquorum, Lepus timidus albus, Lepus timidus cinereus, Lepus timidus coronatus, Lepus timidus flavus, Lepus timidus maculatus, Lepus timidus niger, Lepus timidus nigricans, Lepus timidus rufus, Lepus timidus var. argenteogrisea, Lepus timidus var. hymenalis, Lepus timidus var. tumak
Other names and names in other languages (110)
- Brown hareEnglish
- Brown hareEnglish
- Common hareEnglish
- European brown hareEnglish
- HareEnglish
- أرنب بنيArabic
- قواع أوروبيArabic
- قواع بنيArabic
- Liebre europea u comunaAragonese
- ГӀанкӀAvaric
- ЦӀахӀилгӀанкӀAvaric
- Adi dovşanAzerbaijani
- Boz dovşanAzerbaijani
- ҮрғуянBashkir
- Заяц-русакBelarusian
- Заяц-шаракBelarusian
- Див заекBulgarian
- Gad EuropaBreton
- Evropski zecBosnian
- Llebre comunaCatalan
- Llebre europeaCatalan
- Луды моренMari
- Хир мулкачӗChuvash
- Хир мулкачĕChuvash
- zajíc polníCzech
- Szari zajcKashubian
- YsgyfarnogWelsh
- YsgyfarnogodWelsh
- Europæisk HareDanish
- HaseGerman
- FeldhaseGerman
- KrummeGerman
- Arwêşê EwropaZaza
- ΛαγόςGreek
- Ευρωπαϊκός λαγόςGreek
- Eŭropa leporoEsperanto
- Liebre EuropeaSpanish
- HalljänesEstonian
- Erbi arruntBasque
- خرگوش صحرایی اروپاییPersian
- rusakkoFinnish
- Lièvre d'EuropeFrench
- FialhaasNorthern Frisian
- HazzeWestern Frisian
- Giorria galldaIrish
- geàrrScottish Gaelic
- geàrranScottish Gaelic
- maigheachScottish Gaelic
- maighicheanScottish Gaelic
- Lebre europeaGalician
- ארנבת אירופיתHebrew
- Obični zecCroatian
- Europski zecCroatian
- mezei nyúlHungarian
- գորշ նապաստակArmenian
- Եվրոպական նապաստակArmenian
- Terwelu eropaIndonesian
- GráhériIcelandic
- Lepre comuneItalian
- Lepre europeaItalian
- ヤブノウサギJapanese
- ヨーロッパノウサギJapanese
- რუხი კურდღელიGeorgian
- ОpқоянKazakh
- Ор қоянKazakh
- 숲멧토끼Korean
- HuesLuxembourgish
- Europäeschen HuesLuxembourgish
- Leolld
- Pilkasis kiškisLithuanian
- Pelēkais zaķisLatvian
- Сур мераҥMari
- HeaMāori
- Liebru EwropewMaltese
- sørhareNorwegian Bokmål
- HaasDutch
- Europese HaasDutch
- sydhareNorwegian Nynorsk
- felthareNorwegian Nynorsk
- Бурхил тæрхъусOssetic
- Zając szarakPolish
- Lebre-comumPortuguese
- Lebre-europeiaPortuguese
- Iepure comunRomanian
- Iepure de câmpRomanian
- Iepure de câmp europeanRomanian
- Iepure european de câmpRomanian
- LepruSicilian
- lullenjoammilNorthern Sami
- ruoššanjoammilNorthern Sami
- zajac poľnýSlovak
- Poljski zajecSlovenian
- Lepuri i fushësAlbanian
- Европски зецSerbian
- LèpereSardinian
- HoaseSaterland Frisian
- fälthareSwedish
- tyskhareSwedish
- ஐரோப்பிய முயல்Tamil
- Үр куяныTatar
- Bayağı tavşanTurkish
- Yaban TavşanıTurkish
- Заєць сірийUkrainian
- Qoʻngʻir quyonUzbek
- Yevropa quyoniUzbek
- LéoroVenetian
- Thỏ rừng châu ÂuVietnamese
- Live d' UropeWalloon
- 欧洲野兔Wu Chinese
- 歐洲野兔Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the European hare
Other species in the same genus Lepus.
Mountain hare
Lepus timidus
Arctic hare
Lepus arcticus
Snowshoe hare
Lepus americanus
Cape hare
Lepus capensis
Black-tailed jackrabbit
Lepus californicus
Granada hare
Lepus granatensis
CompareEuropean hare vs Mountain hareEuropean hare vs Arctic hareEuropean hare vs Snowshoe hareEuropean hare vs Cape hare
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the European hare?
The European hare is a mammal of the family Leporidae in the order Lagomorpha. It is also called the brown hare, common hare and European brown hare.
How heavy is a European hare?
An adult European hare weighs 3.74 kg, which places it in the medium size class.
What does the European hare eat?
The European hare is a herbivore. Its main foods are carrot, papaver rhoeas, soybean, sugar beet, trifolium, weed and winter wheat.
Is the European hare endangered?
No. The European hare is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a European hare live?
The lifespan of the European hare is given as 10.65 years, with values up to 12 years.
How many young does a European hare have?
A European hare has 2.44 young per litter and 3.75 litters per year, after a gestation period of 42 days.
Which countries is the European hare recorded in?
Checklists record the European hare in Australia.
Who named the European hare?
The European hare was named Lepus europaeus by Pallas, 1778.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). European hare (Lepus europaeus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/european-hare
“European hare (Lepus europaeus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/european-hare.
@misc{european_hare_2026,
title = {European hare (Lepus europaeus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/european-hare},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}