Irish Hare Leveret?

DitchShitter · Irish Hare Leveret?

Thought I'd ask you lads, as ye most likely of all to know .....

I've just come in from a walk up the land and noticed Small Dog, my terrier, chasing a scent about in one of the small fields. I did wonder what she was onto this time, but rather expected a snipe.

Then, as I walked past the end of the hedge she was working close to and viewed down it's far side, I spotted something smallish, mammalian and a warm, soft brown colour. It was sitting beneath a gate at the other end of the hedge.

Now, my eyes aren't anything like they used to be. So all I'm looking at is a light brown lump. But then it got up and made its way off as Small Dog - presumably - spooked it.

That's when I saw what it was. And it was either a light coloured, smallish rabbit (3/4 grown?) or else it might equelly, I'm guessing, have been a leveret.

Now, we have 99% No rabbits on this land. I might have seen one, a couple of times. But I could never swear it wasn't one of these weird little Irish hares. (Forgive me for saying that of them, only being raised in england, I've only ever become accustomed to the huge and strikingly obvious Browns. These enchanting little natives throw me all over the place)

So my question is this: Would this be the time of year to expect an Irish leveret? And, if so, would one expect it to be about the size of a smallish rabbit? Or am I just so old and f*cked that I can't even tell a bloody rabbit at 75 yards now?!

johnsevena

From my experience Ditch the hare seem to breed close to all year round.I am stuck in the running of a coursing meeting which runs this weekend and every year after the meeting is finished we release every hare from the paddocks but without fail every year around christmass you will find a few young hares the size of rabbits inside in the paddocks that we searched through with a fine tooth comb and were not seen by us when releasing the adult hares.
I also do a good bit of netting for hares and we start in september and it would surprise you how many hares we catch that are rearing or in young but i examine every hare i catch and release these ones straight away

snipe

first post on here hi to all, also do a bit of coursing and every year there are young hares in the escape when we let of the big ones go we open up the pin and they make there own way out, we could catch up to 100 hares each year and there could be 6 to 10 young after the meeting.

DitchShitter

Cheers, lads! I guess that about wraps it up them; Hare she was.

It looked like a hare. Had that bum high, rocking gait. The colour was far too light (almost gingery) for any rabbit one would normally expect too. Plus we simply don't Have rabbits here.

I just wanted to double check the timing

stevoman

it was probobly a very young hare. my friends dog picked one up the other day while out training her. he wasnt too impressed with the dog non the less but thats what is probobly was