Recognizing them is not so difficult that it was only in the nineties that they were finally defined as sister species, yet different: we are talking about the European common hare and the Italian hare.
Sooner or later all hunters stumble, voluntarily or unintentionally hare hunting. It is an intelligent, fast, shrewd animal that tests the hunting skills even of the hunter with great experience. Its meat is also particularly tasty and flavourful, and its distribution on the Italian territory is almost homogeneous.
These are all the elements that have determined the boundless passion for the hare on the part of today's hunters. But when it comes to hares, obviously there are distinctions of a certain depth to be made. Obviously you will have to specify if you are referring to the European common hare or to the Italic one, which yes, are similar, but not for this reason the same species. To begin with, it will be necessary to examine the morphological differences, which can inform the hunter about the breed in front of him. The impact that we can all grasp is the clear distinction in the color of the fur. In fact, in the Italic hare the band that separates the color of the sides and the reddish gray back, from that of the belly, candid white, is particularly clear, which cannot be said of the European hare, where the passage of color is decidedly more nuanced. The same goes for the fur that covers the hind limbs of the two specimens. The transition between reddish and white is clear for the Italic hare, while blurred for the common European one. Finally, the European hare has a reddish dorsal neck color, while the Italic hare is characterized by a grayish down on the neck. These elements help the hunter, impact, to distinguish one hare from the other. Obviously, great experience is essential to recognize a running hare. The distribution of the two species on the Italian and European territory is also different. The European is substantially present throughout continental Europe (hence the name), with the exception of the Iberian peninsula. It is also present in Palestine, Iraq and Syria. It has recently been forcibly introduced to Ireland, Southern Sweden, New Zealand, Australia and North America where it has shown great adaptability. In Italy it was originally present only in the central-northern regions but today it is practically present everywhere on the national territory. The introduction for hunting purposes began in the twenties of the twentieth century and today it can be considered practically complete.
The Italian hare, on the other hand, has as its northern limit, due to its distribution, the province of Grosseto, beyond which it has not found the right habitat. In the south, on the other hand, the Italic hare is present practically everywhere except in the province of Reggio Calabria, where there are very rare settlements, difficult to find.
Given that there are substantial differences in the distribution of the two species, it is foreseeable that the European and Italian hare prefer different habitats. Specifically, the European hare will fall in love with open environments, grasslands and steppes, and recently there has been a tendency to build dens near cultivated areas, where throughout the year it has the opportunity to obtain good doses of food. It is no coincidence that today the agricultural landscape is the landscape where it is most commonly possible to meet the European hare. In the right habitat, the European reproduces between January and February and between June and July and the gestation lasts no more than 42 days. Litters never exceed 7 pups. There Italian hare, having recently been recognized as a species in its own right, it still keeps many secrets about its habits and habitat. However, it seems that you love a sedentary lifestyle and need really small vital areas. If it shares its habitat with the European hare, they both frequent the same "pastures" and in general the Italic species prefers to frequent the pasture areas after sunset. Normally your lair is located right around these areas.
Even in the case of the Italian hare, the ideal habitat is represented by clearings, better if cultivated and enlivened by the presence of bushes and woods. It will not be unlikely to find the den of the Italian hare near cereal areas, vineyards, olive groves, almond groves but also citrus groves. Unlike the European hare, female Italian hare can breed in October, November, December and January and on average each calving gives birth to 3 cubs. Among the causes of mortality that most threaten both species we remember the European Brown Hare Syndrome (EBHS), viral and lethal, now found throughout Europe. Furthermore, both species are the object of predation by foxes, wild and shepherd dogs. No less important are the deaths caused by road accidents.
Very interesting and in-depth article. It would have been useful to specify more the morphological differences between the two species such as weight and size and if there is the possibility of crosses in nature that could lead to genetic contamination of the two species.