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| Cape hare | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Lagomorpha |
| Family: | Leporidae |
| Genus: | Lepus |
| Species: | L. capensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Lepus capensis | |
 | |
| Geographic range | |
| Cape hare inhieroglyphs | |||
|---|---|---|---|
wn "Cape/desert hare" inAncient Egyptian hieroglyphs | |||
TheCape hare (Lepus capensis), also called thebrown hare and thedesert hare, is ahare native toAfrica andArabia extending intoIndia.[1]
The Cape hare was one of the manymammal species originally described byCarl Linnaeus in his landmark 175810th edition ofSystema Naturae, where it was given the binomial name ofLepus capensis.[2]
The taxon is part of aspecies complex.Lepus tolai andLepus tibetanus were moved out based on geographic distribution and molecular characteristics. The current remaining grouping ofLepus capensis sensu lato remains paraphyletic.[3]
The Cape hare is a typical hare, with well-developed legs for leaping and running, and large eyes and ears to look for threats from its environment. Usually, a white ring surrounds the eye. It has a fine, soft coat which varies in colour from light brown to reddish to sandy grey. Unusually among mammals, the female is larger than the male, an example ofsexual dimorphism.
The Cape hare inhabitsmacchia-type vegetation,grassland,bushveld, the Sahara Desert andsemi-desert areas. It is also common in parts of theEthiopian highlands, such asDegua Tembien.[4]
The Cape hare is anocturnalherbivore, feeding on grass and various shrubs.Coprophagy, the consumption of an organism's own fecal material to double the amount of time food spends in the digestive tract, is a common behaviour amongst rabbits and hares. This habit allows the animal to extract the maximum nourishment from its diet, and microbes present in the pellets also provide nutrients.
Like other hares, they run fast. The only predator which is capable of outrunning them is thecheetah. All other predators areambush and/or opportunistic hunters; examples of these areleopards,caracals, andblack-backed jackals.
After a 42-day-long pregnancy, the female gives birth to from one to three young, termedleverets, per litter and may have as many as 4 litters per year. A characteristic of hares which differentiates them from rabbits is that the young are bornprecocial; that is, the young are born with eyes open and are able to move about shortly after birth. The Cape hare is no exception in this regard.
An example of an ancient Egyptian mummifiedLepus capensis has been recorded in a tomb nearDendera.[5] The egyptian godWenet was a cape hare.
Currently, 12 subspecies are recognised:[6]
