One animal with which the month of March is forever associated is the hare. Lewis Carroll included the March Hare as a character in ‘Alice in Wonderland’, of whom Alice says, “As this is May, it won't be raving mad - at least not so mad as it was in March." In fact, though, the ‘mad’ behaviour of boxing can be seen throughout the hare’s breeding season, which extends over several months.
I recall standing by the River Dove, on the Derbyshire/Staffordshire border, watching hares boxing in the fields on the opposite bank. It is quite strange behaviour, which used to be interpreted as male hares fighting over an available female; now the boxing is recognized as being generally the female fighting off a male who is getting too amorous - or perhaps testing him out as a potential mate. A female may be pursued by several males, and, when finally caught by one, will stand and fight before making off again. At this time hares will also jump and dance as they meet together, and all this happens at quite some speed - the animals have been recorded as running at speeds of up to 45 miles per hour.
This is the brown hare, probably introduced to the UK by the Romans, and found throughout much of mainland Britain, though not in Ireland. There is also the mountain hare, not found in Wales, and the Irish hare, found, as the name suggests, only in Ireland, and perhaps a subspecies of the mountain hare.
Brown hares are creatures of the open meadow, raising their young not in burrows like rabbits but in forms - depressions in the ground. They are rather larger than rabbits, with a rangier build, taller ears and a black-tipped tail. When disturbed, a hare will run at speed, often taking a zig-zag course. They will tend to stick to regular routes into and out of fields - so one I disturbed along the lane near Middleton-in-Chirbury last year ran ahead of my car for some way before it spotted and took a clearly marked ‘hare path’ through the hedge.
Brown hares are regarded as an endangered species, numbers having reduced by some 75% through the last century - largely due to the decline in mixed farming. Unusually for a red-list species, hares can still be legally shot, though hunting by dogs is prohibited. This is because hares are still claimed as a serious pest, for example where beet is grown commercially.
The countryside around here is on the whole still good habitat for hares, which are also found on areas of short grass, such as golf courses and sand dunes. Hares used to be regarded as good eating, and jugged hare is to be found in many recipe books from Mrs Beeton onwards, as a traditional autumn dish. The hare also has its place in folklore, and, in this area, in the story of St Melangell, who gave shelter under her cloak to a hare being pursued by Brochwel, Prince of Powys.
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