Irish Mountain Hare - Giorria
It has probably happened to quite a few of us - you are out walking a trail, maybe the grass is long next to the track or there are thickets of gorse and heather lining the route. You are admiring the view or chatting with your walking companion when whoosh, a dash of chestnut brown and a flash of white appear from nowhere. You can barely register what is happening before your eyes and brain catch up with each other and you realise you’ve just had a brief encounter with one of Iveragh’s fastest residents - the Irish mountain hare.
An Irish mountain hare
This tactic of hiding and bolting at the last minute is a behaviour common in hares. Their rusty brown coat provides them with excellent camouflage so there is a good chance that if they stay still, you, or a hungry fox, might pass them by. If this doesn’t work, they go to plan B and put those long, powerful legs to good use with an explosive turn of pace that can reach up to 45mph. Once they hit their stride, your surprise encounter will turn into a wonderful experience where you watch them move through the landscape and disappear as quickly as they appeared.
An experience like that will leave you with no doubt as to why their Irish name, giorria, comes from ‘gearr fhia’ meaning ‘short deer’. They really are almost like a miniature red deer when on the move.
A hare running through the landscape of Iveragh
While they are very similar to rabbits (which were introduced to Ireland by the Normans as a food source in the 12th century) there are a few differences you can look out for. Rabbits are smaller (adults weigh up to 2kg), have grey fur, short legs so they appear low to the ground, and they live in underground burrows known as warrens. Adult hares can be twice the size of rabbits (weighing up to 3.5kg), have brown coats, and long legs. Unlike burrowing rabbits, hares give birth to their young in shallow nests on the ground known as ‘forms’ and these forms are often hidden in dense vegetation.
A young hare (a leveret) hiding behind vegetation - they live in shallow depressions in the ground, not in burrows.
Mating can occur at any time of year, but early spring is a good time to observe the famous boxing hares. A male buck approaches a female doe in the hope of mating, but the female is going to put him to the test first. The pair stand on their hind legs and slap at each other frantically with their front paws. If the female decides he has passed the test, they may mate. If she’s not interested, he’ll need to make a hasty retreat. Fur flies, chasing ensues, and he is sent on his way. The young, leverets, are born about 7 weeks later and several females may share the same form. Leverets adopt the ‘don’t move and they won’t see me’ technique if danger is near. They lay motionless on the ground and can often be mistaken for an animal which needs rescuing. It’s quite possible that mum is close by feeding on grass or flowers and will return to feed her leveret with her rich milk. If you find a leveret in a situation like this, move away and leave them be. There’s a good chance you’ll see mum’s long brown ears listening nearby and you’ll know that all is well.
Notice the long legs and brown coat of the Irish mountain hare.
Something thing you might ask is why we call it the ‘Irish’ mountain hare. Mountain hares, or Lepus timidus, are widespread across the UK and northern Europe. In colder countries, their chestnut brown coats turn white in winter to be better camouflaged against the snow. However, in Ireland, genetic studies have shown that the hares here are unique and have been renamed as Irish mountain hares, or Lepus timidus hibernicus.
Myths, legends and folklore surrounding the hare
Hares have been in Ireland for a very long time and are one of our native animals which feature heavily in our rich folklore heritage. It is said that warriors such as Fionn Mac Cumhaill would include hares in their training to improve their fitness. The warrior would enter a field with a hare and attempt to keep the animal from escaping. It’s hard to imagine even the mighty Fionn Mac Cumhaill outmanoeuvring the speed and agility of an Irish hare.
There are also tales of witches turning into hares in order to steal milk from cows or even of hares being the spirits of those who have passed away. It was seen as taboo to eat hares in Ireland for these reasons, showing just how strong an influence our folklore had in shaping many customs here. The connection with spirits is likely due to hares often being found around old rural graveyards. The tasty wildflowers and ample hiding spots behind ruins or headstones are much more likely reasons for their occurrence in these locations than an unknown ability to shapeshift.
There is a suggestion that the easter bunny was actually a hare. Many birds such as curlew or lapwing create nests in bowl shapes on the ground in dense vegetation. These are very similar to the form in which baby hares are born. You can imagine the confusion when you find a nest with eggs only to then find another that is being tended by a mother hare.
The Brehon Laws refer to hares as being kept as pets in Ireland. Laws around pet hares were the same as those around keeping hens. Again, this is likely due to the similarity between forms and nests made by hens.
Spotting hares on Iveragh
The best advice on how to see hares on Iveragh is to be patient. Quite often, a hare will find you before you find them. They are a secretive animal that often prefers to emerge at dawn or dusk but sometimes, if you are lucky, one will reveal its silhouette in the distance or wow you with their graceful movement across a coastal field or peaty upland. It will likely be a brief encounter but one that will delight you and remind you of what wonderful wildlife we have here on Iveragh.
If you are lucky enough to see a hare, sightings can be submitted to the National Biodiversity Data Centre: Recording System :: Mammals (biodiversityireland.ie). If you see a leveret and you are concerned, here’s some great advice: http://irishwildlifematters.ie/animals/hare-rabbit/.
