- Lifespan
- 5–8 years in the wild, occasionally up to 12 years
- Size & Weight
- 55–68 cm body length; 3–5.5 kg
- Habitat
- Open grassland, arable farmland, heathland, and rough pasture with minimal tree cover.
- UK Distribution
- Widespread across England, Wales, and lowland Scotland; absent from Ireland and some upland regions. Resident year-round.
- Diet
- Herbivorous, feeding on grasses, clover, dandelions, and other herbaceous plants; in winter, bark, buds, and cultivated crops.
- Predators
- Red fox, golden eagle, white-tailed eagle, peregrine falcon, and occasionally buzzards and stoats.
- Mating Season
- December to August, with peak activity February to July
- Breeding
- 2–4 litters per year; typically 1–3 leverets per litter (occasionally up to 5); gestation 42 days; leverets independent at 3–4 weeks.
- Behaviour
- Solitary and nocturnal, sheltering in shallow depressions called forms. Famous for 'mad March hare' behaviour during breeding season, involving boxing matches between males to establish dominance. Capable of reaching speeds up to 56 km/h when evading predators.