Bad hare day: very low survival rate in brown hare leverets

Karp, Denise; Gehr, Benedikt

doi:10.2981/wlb.00645

Cited by 15 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 35 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For the first time, the present study directly calculated low survival rates in leverets of European hares with an average of 33% of all animals surviving the nursing period, regardless of the wide confidence limits. A recently published study from Switzerland (Karp and Gehr 2020), which examined the survival of leverets using the same methodology as in the present study, found a comparatively lower survival rate of 18% at the end of the first month of life. Usually, hares are reproductive from January until October (Broekhuizen and Maaskamp 1981;Frylestam 1980).…”

Section: Survival Ratessupporting

confidence: 65%

“…For related species such as the snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) and the mountain hare (Lepus timidus), a high mortality rate was proven in the first weeks of life (Dahl 2005;O'Donoghue 1994). Besides two investigations, one unpublished (Bray 1998) and one recently published (Karp and Gehr 2020), there are no studies on the European hare that have directly calculated the survival rate of pre-weaning leverets, neither from systematically captured juvenile animals from the wild nor in an experimental approach under field conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Survival rates on pre-weaning European hares (Lepus europaeus) in an intensively used agricultural area

Voigt

Siebert

2020

Eur J Wildl Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The primary cause of the long-term decline in European hares’ (Lepus europaeus) population throughout Europe is widely assumed to be the intensification of agriculture. A critical component in this population dynamics is seen in the survival of leverets from birth to reproductive age. In European hares, the first stage of life until weaning has been sparsely studied, in particular habitat selection, movements and survival rate, as juveniles’ precocial lifestyle is dominated by any kind of anti-predation behaviour. In the present study, free-living and pre-weaning European hares were detected systematically by thermography (n = 394), being radio-tagged or marked (n = 229) from birth until the fifth week of life to research the early juvenile survival and proximate causes of mortality. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were computed overall and in relation to the strata of season, sex and type of daytime resting place. The survival rate of radio-tagged leverets was 0.35 in the first month of life, and 0.63, 0.52 and 0.44 for the first, second and third week of life, respectively. Approximately 21.6% and 50% of all confirmed deaths occurred during the first 7 and 13 days after birth. By the end of the 4th week of life, the mortality rate caused by predation, suspected predation, agricultural practices and unexplained cases was 41.7%, 36.7%, 11.7% and 10.0%, respectively. There was no significant difference in survival between the sexes and seasons. In contrast, young hares died more frequently as a consequence of choosing a hiding place without shelter during the daytime.

show abstract

Section: Survival Ratessupporting

confidence: 65%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survival rates on pre-weaning European hares (Lepus europaeus) in an intensively used agricultural area

Voigt

Siebert

2020

Eur J Wildl Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…An increased leveret mortality (low recruitment) is one of the most important determinants of the decline in European brown hare populations, and neonatal survival can be one of the key factors affecting population dynamics (review in: [63]). We showed in our study that in the first period (1980-1989), autumn densities were higher than the densities of the preceding spring.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why Did Brown Hare Lepus europaeus Disappear from Some Areas in Central Poland?

Gryz

Krauze‐Gryz

2022

Diversity

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Brown hares originated in the open steppe grasslands of Eurasia and have adapted very successfully to a mixed, arable agriculture environment. In the last decades of the 20th century, a decline in brown hare populations has been observed in many European countries. In this study, we documented a long-term (1965–2018) decline in the hare population in a field and forest mosaic in central Poland (from over 30 ind./100 ha in the mid-1960s to 1–2 ind./100 ha in the past decade). We showed that the recent autumn densities were the same as compared to the preceding spring densities (suggesting a low recruitment rate) and that the recent densities recorded in the fields were no longer higher than in the forests (probably due to a decrease in the habitat quality of arable lands). We also showed that the share of hares in a red fox diet was now very low (0.1% vs. 13% in the past). We compared the recent (2004–2018) population estimates to another area that was located 70 km east (with a similar habitat structure, a community of predators and climate conditions, but with less intense agriculture), where the hare population was increasing. We suggested that the farming practices were the most important factor for the hare population decrease in our study area.

show abstract

“…There is a high mortality rate in young hares in the wild in the first weeks of life, previous studies reported leveret mortality ranging from 65% [ 9 ] to 84% [ 11 ] in the first month. Thus, it is particularly important to limit the factors that further contribute to their mortality.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hansen [ 10 ] reported a mortality rate of as much as 80% in leverets as a result of a shortage of suitable habitats. In their study, Karp and Gehr [ 11 ] reported an even lower survival rate in young brown hares, likewise due to the unsuitability of habitats. Litters are also affected negatively by excessive precipitation [ 12 ] and the occurrence of large numbers of parasites that cause a decline in the weight and hardiness of animals [ 6 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Causes of admission and outcomes of brown hare (Lepus europaeus) leverets at wildlife rescue centres in the Czech Republic

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Wildlife rescue centres care for orphaned and injured young as an integral part of their work. However, inappropriate interventions in nature can have a negative effect on the survival of young hares, especially when the care of these young is not very successful. The aim of this study was to assess the number of brown hare leverets admitted to rescue centres in the Czech Republic in the period from 2010 to 2019, the causes of their admission to rescue centres and their outcomes. Results We evaluated the number of brown hare leverets admitted to rescue centres in the Czech Republic in the period from 2010 to 2019 and the outcomes associated with their leaving these rescue centres. We found that the number of brown hare leverets admitted increased during the monitored period (rSp = 0.6364, p < 0.05). The most frequent reasons for admission were the admission of orphaned young (49.15%), leverets brought needlessly (19.60%) and leverets that had been bitten by other animals (18.63%). More (p < 0.05) young admitted to rescue centres died (40.76%) than were reared successfully and released back into the wild (32.40%). Leverets that had been caught needlessly or orphaned and late-born leverets survived and could be released back into the wild (38.56, 34.51 and 52%, respectively), while fatalities were recorded in most leverets bitten by another animal (65.05%) or hit in a collision with a vehicle (97.06%). Most young hares (76.92%) that were exhausted or starved at the time of admission could not be saved. Conclusions Since only a small proportion of hares in a litter survive until adulthood in the wild, young animals being found and taken needlessly to rescue centres may harm the hare population. Our results show that only around one in three healthy young hares admitted to rescue centres are reared successfully. It is, in our opinion, of fundamental importance to the protection of brown hare leverets to inform the public of this issue and prevent needless interventions into natural rearing in the wild.

show abstract

Bad hare day: very low survival rate in brown hare leverets

Abstract: BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

Cited by 15 publications

References 35 publications

Survival rates on pre-weaning European hares (Lepus europaeus) in an intensively used agricultural area

Survival rates on pre-weaning European hares (Lepus europaeus) in an intensively used agricultural area

Why Did Brown Hare Lepus europaeus Disappear from Some Areas in Central Poland?

Causes of admission and outcomes of brown hare (Lepus europaeus) leverets at wildlife rescue centres in the Czech Republic

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About