- Lifespan
- 5–6 years in the wild, up to 9 years in captivity
- Size & Weight
- 45–60 cm body length; 1.5–3.5 kg
- Habitat
- Open moorland, grassland, and heathland in upland areas with sparse vegetation.
- UK Distribution
- Resident in the Scottish Highlands, Cairngorms, and parts of the Pennines; absent from most of lowland Britain and Ireland.
- Diet
- Herbivorous; grazes on grasses, heather, clover, and bilberry; browses shrubs and young trees, especially in winter.
- Predators
- Golden eagles, white-tailed eagles, red foxes, wildcats, and pine martens; stoats and corvids prey on leverets.
- Mating Season
- February to August, with peak activity March to May
- Breeding
- 2–4 leverets per litter; females typically have 2–3 litters annually; gestation period approximately 50 days; leverets weaned at 3–4 weeks.
- Behaviour
- Solitary and primarily nocturnal and crepuscular; forms temporary groups in winter. Males ('bucks') engage in boxing behaviour during rut. Relies on speed and zigzag running to escape predators, reaching up to 60 km/h.