What is common and what is the difference between a rabbit and a hare. What is the difference between a wild hare and a rabbit? What is the difference between a hare and a rabbit?

What is the difference between a hare and a rabbit? This is almost a philosophical question. Philosophers and children love to look at the most ordinary things with distrust. To be interested, for example, whether domesticated hares or children of a rabbit and a hare can be domesticated. We are not afraid of such questions and will answer them. Read on!

Although both the hare and the rabbit belong to the same order of mammals - lagomorphs - and are very similar in appearance, there are many differences between them. Including at the genetic level. If rabbits can boast of 22 pairs of chromosomes, then the hare has 24. Therefore, it will not be possible to “marry” them to get offspring.

Appearance

In our urban age, many can hardly determine by appearance what kind of animal is in front of them. And when asked “what is the difference between a hare and a rabbit,” they will only shrug their shoulders. At first glance, they are really similar: long ears, the same hind legs, fluffy tails, galloping the same way... But this is only at first glance. Let's take a closer look at the animals - there are differences between a rabbit and a hare.

Features of life

Both also treat their children differently. If baby rabbits are born naked, deaf, blind and need the mother’s attention for a long time, then the baby hares are born covered with fur, sighted, and after a few hours they are already setting off to explore the space around the nest.

The rabbit litter is usually large, from 10 to 16 babies, while that of hares is more modest. The former feed on mother's milk for a whole month of life after birth, the latter, within a week, switch to pasture - grass and young twigs. A mother rabbit will never feed other people's babies, and at home, attempts to feed other people's babies to her end in nothing.

In the wild, when she comes across someone else's baby, she is even capable of eating him. But bunnies believe that there are no other people’s children. Therefore, in between times they can easily let in a lonely little bunny, hidden under a bush, waiting for “some mother.” Sometimes such a baby can sit in a shelter for three or four days, emitting calling infrasounds that only a hare can hear.

They also bear offspring for different periods of time: the female rabbit - 4 weeks, the female hare - almost twice as long, 45 days. Moreover, if rabbits breed all year round, hares breed only in warm weather, in Europe, for example, in spring and summer. As you can see, there is a big difference between a rabbit and a hare in relation to their offspring.

Character and behavior

In the natural state, there are differences in lifestyle: rabbits prefer to stay together, digging holes, but their counterparts love loneliness, coming together only during mating periods. In addition, the latter do not become attached to “their” territory - rabbits are homebodies, well able to recognize by smell where the “neighbors’ land” begins.

You won’t find a hare hole dug “with your own hands” either. True, in a dangerous situation they will not refuse to hide in someone else’s hole. Rabbits are capable of building an entire underground “city” located at different levels. Each family here has its own “apartment”, in which new “rooms” are dug for families awaiting additions. Thanks to the strict hierarchy, the rabbit colony will have smart management and orderly life.

Although both furry families are known as cowards, they can easily bite and kick. In a natural state, both of them prefer to run away from danger. True, hares do it better: they can show 70-80 kilometers per hour, rabbits - a maximum of 20 kilometers per hour.

Do you know how to distinguish a hare from a rabbit in moments of danger? This can be done not only by speed of movement. The hare will react to the threat immediately by running away. The rabbit may rise on its hind legs and freeze for a while. Further, if a hill is encountered on the way of the animals, the hare will roll down it head over heels: due to the short front legs and much longer hind legs, there is no other way to go down the hill.

But the brother rabbits have less difference in the length of their front and hind legs, and they can easily run down at a gallop. Their wild relative will not run anywhere at all: if the soil is not rocky, he will immediately dig a hole with the help of his strong front paws - and so he was!

And one last thing. In Russian folk tales, the hare is called a coward. Indeed, he has someone to fear. In nature it has many enemies, and man has long hunted this animal for its tasty and tender meat and beautiful fur. However, over thousands of years, not a single people has managed to tame it. In captivity, he withered and even died. “Coward” defended his right to freedom. The rabbit was easily tamed and many different breeds useful to humans were bred.

Natalia
How is a hare different from a rabbit?

The rabbit and the hare are brothers. After all, both of them are representatives of the order Lagomorpha. Visually, these animals are very similar, and there are many similarities in their habits. But still they are such distant relatives that they are not able to interbreed with each other. This means that they have more differences than kinship.

Both animals flee from danger or predators. But if hares are known as very nimble, fast, playful, then rabbits are very inferior to them in speed. And the manner of movement is also very different. The former are excellent sprinters, while the latter are much slower. They do not run, but simply move quickly or jump. Having noticed the danger, rabbits may freeze in place from fear. The reason for this difference is obvious: hares have strong and long hind legs, while rabbits have short legs and are not suitable for running.

Attention! The average speed of a hare is 70 km/h, a wild rabbit is 54 km/h, and a domestic rabbit is 20 km/h.

External distinctive features

Features of behavior

Many people believe that rabbits exist only in domesticated form. But that's not true. Wild rabbits also live in nature. And there they actively dig holes. But hares are not tied to a specific habitat; they often change their overnight accommodations and move around different territories. Wild rabbits are assigned to a specific area and are reluctant to leave it.

Difference in reproduction

Rabbits are very prolific animals; they give birth all year round. Hares are very dependent on their living conditions, so they mate only during favorable periods, when there is plenty of food and the climate allows them to raise babies. In our latitudes, hares traditionally give birth from late spring to early autumn. Duration of pregnancy:

1. Female rabbits remain pregnant for 30-32 days.
2. Hares carry babies for 44-45 days.

Rabbit and hare

A significant difference is also noticeable in children. Rabbits are born blind and naked. They are still attached to their mother for a long time. And the hares are born sighted, with short fur. Little bunnies are very independent and early begin to lead an adult life without their mother.

As we can see, even though hares and rabbits only seem to be close relatives. In fact, they are very different from each other. And their similarities are very slight.

Domestic hare: video

Domestic rabbits are domesticated hares. Rabbit breeders from different regions of Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia and America crossed the largest hares caught on their land with each other, and the babies grew up in captivity. Thus, animals began to appear that had greater meat and fur productivity than wild hares. These were the first rabbits.

Interesting fact! The name "Rabbit" comes from the Polish word "Krolik", which is a diminutive of "Krol" - king. Due to their rapid growth, reproduction, tasty meat, warm fur and low nutritional requirements, the poor population of Poland and throughout Europe considered rabbits to be the kings of farm animals. That's how the name stuck.

Housing

It is difficult for hares to survive in the wild. They need to constantly roam in search of food and shelter from predatory animals, which is why most wild lagomorphs do not have permanent shelter. Rabbits do not need to find food or shelter, since everything they need is provided by the rabbit breeder.

Therefore, rabbits rarely leave their burrows or cages, even after successfully escaping from the hands of a rabbit breeder. If a pet runs away, it will most likely die due to lack of food, cold, or animals wanting to eat tasty meat. But this is not the only difference between them.

Gastrointestinal tract

The digestive system of rabbits and hares is almost identical, the exception is that in “savages” it works much faster due to constant movement. The rabbit spends most of its time in a cage. Such fast work of the esophagus negatively affects wild animals, which is why hares do not live more than 2 years. In retaliation for this, the hares received strong immunity and easily tolerate diseases. Which are considered lethal for rabbits.

Body structure and color

The legs and ears of rabbits are much smaller and shorter; this change occurred due to the “uselessness” of rabbits running away from a large predator or listening to the steps of a predator while grazing in a meadow.

Externally, the heads of the animals are also different. Hares have a more elongated muzzle, while a rabbit's head is wide and high. What caused this change is not clear. After 2 weeks of life, the baby rabbit is covered with thick wool of a certain color, this color will remain with him for the rest of his life, but the color of the hare’s “coat” changes regularly depending on the time of year.

The hare and rabbit are the fastest maturing warm-blooded animals in the world. They grow and reproduce quickly. The difference between them can be seen after birth. Rabbits are born “naked” and blind, and at first they can only feed on their mother’s milk.

The rabbits are born covered in fluff and sighted, and within 2-3 days they can eat adult food. The fact is that rabbits are safe after birth, but hares are born in extreme conditions, especially in terms of predators. This caused such an evolutionary difference in the offspring.

Maternal instinct is also radically different in these animals. The female rabbit regularly feeds and cares for her babies, while the female hare may not come to her babies for 4 days, but if another nursing female finds the bunnies, she will immediately feed the hungry animals. The gestation period of a female hare is 45-55 days, the female rabbit gives birth to offspring on days 28-32 of pregnancy.

The note! Research work has shown that rabbits are capable of breeding all year round. Hares bear offspring only during favorable periods, from late spring to early autumn.

Gastronomic differences

If externally you can easily distinguish these animals, then what is the difference between the meat of a hare and a rabbit? The difference can be seen even in its raw form. The meat of a wild animal is dark red in color and drier. Rabbit fillet of delicate pink color. Due to the biovitamin nutrition contained in the premixes, rabbit meat has a stronger aroma than hare meat.

The carcass of a wild one has a thin layer of fat than that of a domestic one. That’s why hare meat is often stewed with pork or rabbit lard. The taste of hare meat is tougher, although many hunters and rabbit breeders claim that properly cooked game is much tastier than rabbit.

Eventually…

It is already possible to understand that no matter how similar hares and rabbits are in appearance, differences can be found.

1. Hares do not have permanent housing and are constantly in search of food. Rabbits do not leave their holes.
2. Appearance. Hares are taller and larger, and change coat color depending on the time of year (seasonal molting).
3. The wild animal has large ears and longer legs, which makes it different from a rabbit.
4. Attitude towards babies: female rabbits do not leave their offspring and can even rush at the rabbit breeder when trying to contact the babies. Hares often lose their babies in the grass when they go far from the birthing site.
5. Rabbits are born hairless and blind; hares feed on their own from the very first day and can even run away from a predator.
6. The meat of wild rabbits is tougher and darker, but has a higher taste. Rabbit meat has a delicate taste and pale pink color, but has a specific aroma.
7. The gastrointestinal tract of wild eared animals works much faster, increasing the percentage of wear and tear on the body.

Explanation! There are three species of lagomorphs, these are hares, rabbits and wild rabbits from Europe. A cross between a hare and a wild rabbit - the modern rabbit. It is impossible to tame a wild purebred hare.

Now it is clear what the difference is between these animals and that hares and rabbits are the same animals with different habitats and living conditions.

Comparison of hare and rabbit. Their difference is in appearance and behavior.

A person’s inquisitive mind often haunts its owner. This ability helps us to understand the world, to find common points and distinctive characteristics in the surrounding reality.

Animals are amazing creatures. Their species diversity is fascinating and attracts for detailed study.

Continuing the topic of identifying differences between similar species of animals and birds, let's talk in more detail about hares and rabbits.

What is the difference between a wild and domestic rabbit from a hare: comparison, difference, difference, explanation for children

hare and rabbit with designated external differences

All domestic rabbits are descended from the wild hare. The characteristic distinguishing features are:

• Size of ears and paws. They are larger in hares.
• Habitat.
  Hares do not dig holes, but live on the surface of the earth. Rabbits, on the contrary, love to hide in tunnels dug by their paws.
• Weight.
  Hares reach 7 kg, and rabbits - 10. At the same time, the average weight of a white hare is 3-5.5 kg, a hare - 4-7 kg, a domestic rabbit - up to 10 kg, a wild rabbit - 1.6-2.5 kg.
• Sociality.
  Hares prefer the life of hermits, while rabbits live in packs.
• The running speed is definitely higher in hares.
• Behavior when encountering danger.
  Hares always run away, but rabbits often freeze in place.
• Changes in coat color are present in hares. During the snowy season they are white, the rest of the year they are gray. Rabbits after molting remain the same color.
• Genetics.
  Hares have 24 pairs of chromosomes, rabbits have 22. For this reason, they do not interbreed, since there will be no offspring from such “marriages.”
• The mating season for rabbits is all year round. Hares are more conservative, breeding only in certain months, taking into account the climate of their residence.
• Newborn offspring.
  Bunnies are immediately ready to survive in this world; they have fur, hearing and vision, as well as the ability to digest adult food already on the 5th day after birth.
  Rabbits need mother's care for 25 days after birth. They have no fur, no vision, no hearing. For the first 4 weeks of life, they eat and digest only mother’s milk.
• Duration of pregnancy.
  It lasts longer for hares. The hare will give birth in 45 days, the rabbit - in 32.
• Parental feelings are stronger in female rabbits. They selflessly care only for their offspring. Attempts to place other people's rabbits on them end in failure. The rabbit either beats them up or eats them. The hare calmly leaves her newborn babies for a day or more. However, someone else's feeding representative who happens to be next to them will easily feed them.

To make the child understand the difference between rabbits and hares, say that the former are able to live with humans, but the latter are not. Rabbits are more social, hares prefer solitude.

Who is bigger: a rabbit or a hare?

hare and rabbit in the picture

Before answering the question, there are a number of points to consider:

• Representatives of domestic rabbits are larger in weight
• In terms of paw height, hares are in the lead

Who runs faster: a hare or a rabbit?

The hare runs faster. Its legs are longer than those of a rabbit, which is important for fast running.

The hare reaches speeds of up to 70 km/h, while its brother only reaches 25 km/h.

We looked at the main differences between hares and rabbits in the first section of the article. Among the similar characteristics, we note:

• animal genus
• external body structure
• food preferences
• seasonal molt

Let's add a number of photos of hares and rabbits to remember their visual differences.

photo of a hare and a rabbit to determine the differences between them, example 1

drawing of baby hare and rabbit to determine the differences between them, example 2

photo of the head of a hare and a rabbit to determine the differences between them, example 3

What order do hares and rabbits belong to?

They belong to the order Lagomorpha, they are also placental mammals.

Why the rabbit is a domestic animal and the hare is wild: an explanation

Rabbits live not only at home, but also in the wild. Man managed to tame them and breed different breeds.

The rabbits did not make contact with people. All attempts to tame these freedom-loving animals ended in failure.

So, we examined in detail the differences between hares and domestic and wild rabbits, and saw the external differences in drawings and photographs.

Continue your observations of wildlife and pass on your knowledge to the younger generation!

Video: What is the difference between hares and rabbits?

Igor Nikolaev

Reading time: 3 minutes

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Many of us have never even really thought about how a hare differs from a rabbit. Moreover, the vast majority believes that the rabbit is a domesticated hare.

In other words, many people think that wild hares run around in the forest, and their domesticated relatives live on farms. Let's say right away that this is a very widespread misconception. Although rabbits belong to the order Lagomorpha, there are simply no domestic hares.

The hare and rabbit, despite their external similarity, are completely different animals.

They are similar not only in appearance - they also have a similar nutritional diet, they have the same natural enemies, from which they escape in the same way (weaving while fleeing and trying to hide if possible). However, these are all similar features. As for the differences between these two types, there are many more of them. So what is the difference between a hare and a rabbit?

Hares can be found in almost every corner of the globe. Hares spread mainly throughout the world from the territory of the European continent, traveling together with people across the seas and oceans of our planet. However, there is a continent on which there are simply no hares. This is Australia. But there are a huge number of wild rabbits in this country, and they pose a serious threat to agriculture and the ecology of this green continent.

The world's largest population of wild rabbits lives in North America. There are also quite a lot of these animals in South America, and they were introduced by North American colonists. Wild rabbits live in other parts of the world, but in Eurasia they are practically absent. On our continent they are all domestic animals, but in the wild their niche is occupied by hares.

Lifestyle Differences

Hares, as a rule, are loners. They never gather in herds. Moreover, they don’t even live in pairs.

In addition, the habitat of each hare is quite extensive, since, unlike rabbits, they do not dig burrows and live wherever they need to.

What makes a rabbit different is its settled nature.

These animals constantly dig holes for themselves, to which they become strongly attached. In these dwellings they give birth to and feed their offspring, live in large families and prefer to spend a lot of time in the family circle.

Rabbits constantly improve, expand and improve their holes, taking their “home” very seriously.

Differences in appearance

Since the lifestyle of these species differs quite significantly, their appearance also has very significant differences. The main similarities between rabbits and hares are: long ears, a short tail, strong limbs and a specific tooth structure. However, there are much more differences (although they are not particularly noticeable to a superficial glance):

• rabbits are much smaller than hares;
• The color of rabbits remains unchanged throughout their entire life, but hares are able to change their color depending on what time of year it is (usually in spring and summer, hares have a gray coat, and in winter its color changes to white);
• The length of the ears of rabbits is shorter than that of hares, since their burrowing lifestyle forces them to spend a lot of time in a confined space;
• the structure of the limbs of these animals is also different; hares have to jump and run a lot and often, so their legs are longer than rabbits; but the paws of rabbits are better adapted for digging holes and underground passages.

Although both hares and rabbits belong to the same biological order - lagomorphs, it is impossible to cross them with each other and produce offspring.

In addition, the breeding season for hares is six months (mid-spring - mid-autumn). Rabbits breed year-round, without taking breaks during the winter.

The duration of gestation for these eared pseudo-relatives also varies. A female rabbit carries her cubs for no more than one month, and a female hare’s pregnancy lasts for one and a half months (about 45 days).

The difference between these animals is especially noticeable if you look at the offspring they bring.

Rabbits are born blind, deaf, completely naked and completely helpless.

They really need constant care and care from the rabbit, without which they simply die. In addition, a female rabbit will never accept other people's cubs for feeding (if this instinct is not suppressed by appropriate selection). Some domestic rabbits are able to feed other people's rabbits if they are introduced to her at the age of no more than five to seven days. Otherwise, she will simply eat someone else’s offspring.

What’s different about newborn bunnies is that they are already fully formed. At birth, they are already covered with hair, hear and see perfectly, and almost immediately after birth they can eat food typical of an adult diet.

It’s not even a stretch to call a hare a good mother. Having given birth to offspring, she almost always abandons them to their fate. Sometimes a grief-stricken mother's maternal feelings awaken, and then she feeds the first rabbits she comes across, most often strangers. Her own cubs are most often fed by outside females.

The rabbit began to differ from the hare in ancient times.

It is impossible to tame a hare.