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Species authority page

European hare

Lepus europaeus · Hares and rabbits · Small game

European hare (Lepus europaeus): Yellowish-brown to greyish-brown coat with white underbody. Long ears with black tips; brown face with eye rings. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and dateOpen the european hare map

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

European hare sitting upright in tall grass
Photo by Simon Evans on Unsplash
Scientific name
Lepus europaeus
Family
Leporidae
In North America
Introduced
Range
Native to Europe and western/central Asia. Introduced to North America (southern Ontario, Great Lakes, northeastern US, from 1893-1912).
Biology

How to identify it

Yellowish-brown to greyish-brown coat with white underbody. [1]

Long ears with black tips; brown face with eye rings. [1]

Tail black on top, white beneath. [1]

3-5 kg, about 680 mm long. [1]

Field knowledge

Where it lives

Open fields and pastures bordered by hedgerows and woodlots, often around agricultural fields. [1]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Mostly solitary and nocturnal, foraging roughly 7 p.m.-7 a.m. [1]

Rests by day in shallow depressions called forms [1]

Active year-round; summer diet grasses, herbs, crops; winter diet twigs, buds, bark [1]

Fast and agile, up to about 35 mph [1]

Regulatory handoff

Where it is listed for legal take

These authorities list this species for legal take in their own regulations.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Native to Europe and western/central Asia. Introduced to North America (southern Ontario, Great Lakes, northeastern US, from 1893-1912).

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. BIOLOGICALEuropean Hare

    Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology