The Peak District is home to the UK’s only native arctic animal – the mountain hare. They can also be found throughout all of Ireland, in the highlands of Scotland and the Isle of man, along with other arctic climates around the world.

When spotted, they will often be found grazing alone, as they tend not to live in groups. Their diet changes with the seasons depending on what is available at the time, but it mainly consists of heather, grass, twigs, rush and sedge species.

Spot the difference

The mountain hare and brown hare are very similar, but certain traits set them apart. The coat of a mountain hare has more of a grey tint to it, and they have brown eyes and shorter ears to minimise heat loss. The eyes of a brown hare are a shade of amber with the fur appearing more orange tinted.

The average head and body length of a mountain hare is around 50cm, with females weighing in at about 2.9kg and males slightly less at around 2.6kg. Its body is smaller than a brown hare, and another defining factor is that the mountain hare has an all-year-round white tail.

Their fur turns white

One of the fascinating abilities of the mountain hare is that during the winter months their summer coat moults and turns white, although brown fur can sometimes still be seen. The fur changing process is usually complete by December, and they will keep their winter coats until early spring. The purpose of this is to camouflage themselves amongst the snow to hide from predators, but with our ever-changing climate, it can often make them stand out more when there is no snow on the ground. Young hares are hunted by foxes, wildcats, stoats and buzzards, with many not making it to adulthood, while larger adults are preyed upon by eagles.

Boxing behaviour

From January to September the well-known boxing behaviour takes place where several males will chase a female and she will retaliate by boxing. Females may produce up to three litters per year, with gestation being only 50 days. Each litter of offspring will usually produce 1-4 leverets born with fur and eyes open.

The leverets are left alone during the first week of their life while the mother goes to feed, but she will return at dusk to the thick vegetation where she left her young so they can suckle her milk. By three weeks of age, the leverets will be fully weaned and will go their separate ways to find their own territories. The lifespan of a mountain hare is 3-4 years but they have been known to live to 9 years old when kept in captivity.