THE HARE - OBSERVATIONS RELATIVE TO ITS BIOLOGY AND HUNTING

The most popular prey in the world is the hare and this is not accidental, as it can be found everywhere, from deserted regions to frozen ones and from the cultivated fields up to the parks of cities. Easily adaptable, durable, intelligent, crafty and fast it may be standing in front of us and no one may sense it; also, the dogs must be excellent hunters in order to flush it out and of course to capture it; also the hunter must be very capable, otherwise hunting this animal will just be a distant dream. Since ancient times, it has been the most preferred prey for hunters. It is not accidental that there are more than 100 tracer dog breeds, without even considering all variants of these breeds with different sizes and colours but also types of coat that are bred around the world, and all these exclusively serving hare hunting. But people have included it in general and not only as a prey in ecosystems exclusively for its hunting, places where it previously did not exist.

I will try to transfer certain observations that I have made regarding this prey and concerning the Cretan Tracer and its hunting tactic. As we have previously said, the Cretan Tracer is a careful and noiseless tracer which searches the hare near its nest without making noise, and the more it approaches the nest of the hare the more the dog is careful. By this tactic, the hare that is found hidden is adapted and is aware of the dog’s intentions even before the second has approached. Thus, many times we will see the hare trying to escape with the same tactic; slowly and carefully moving without making any noise and without making any abrupt movements but by almost crawling, with its ears stuck in the back, moving without leaving the spot but making circles and returning to the initial spot, thus, trying to fool the dog. In general, I would say that the hare is intelligent, understands the dog that approaches and I am sure that it can even distinguish the novice from the experienced dog. Thus, when it has to deal with an experienced dog, we will see the hare run before the dog has even approached it, but when the dog is new and ignorant we will see the hare stay in its place and we may literally see the dog be over it and the hare even then not move. Still, we will see the hare when running hunted by the dog, to move from the flushing point the furthest it can. Many times we hear that the dog has accomplished to force the hare to return and thus, get caught. Personally, I consider that in order for the hare to return, it should be forced by the dog so much, that it is forced to change course, or the hare itself must have chosen to return (usually female ones); in order to be caught, persecution is not enough, as the dog should be at least one metre behind the hare in order to make it change direction.

Here in Crete and specifically in mountainous rocky regions, hares hide in their hole and when we say in it, we do not mean in front of it, but in its depth without being visible by any means, and without the dog being able to flush it out. For this reason, we prefer to hunt them after it rains and if the rain is so heavy and intense that the water enters the hole then the hare is forced to come outside. In this case, we find it literally sitting on the rock warming itself under the sun and its only camouflage being its immobility and its colour. It is easier to spot the hare while being out of its hole in spring and in summertime than during winter. There are some hares which do not come out of their holes but occasionally and choose to remain in it all year long, even when it is snowing. Do not forget that its coat is thick so it is well protected from cold weather as well as from the heat. There is an old saying about the hare: when one asks “where can the hare be found when it is cold?” they answer “the same place it is found when it’s hot”. That is to say, in clean dry spots with a lot of sunlight in winter and where the cool breeze blows in summer. That is to say on high spots.
In winter it prefers to stay in the dells and in paddings where the sun rays do not pass and where there isn’t any humidity, so as to be sure that no one will bother it, and if this happens to be able to escape; also during summertime and while it is scorching we shall see it sitting on a stone under the sun, without any camouflage and burning from the heat. It is strange, but the logic of the hare does not have any relation to ours and all hunters who succeed in understanding its way of acting then they will have resolved a serious problem concerning its hunting.
Many times over we have heard that the male and the female hare have different droppings, that is to say the male’s are longer and the female’s flatter and more rounded. Personally, I have realised that this is not true because in domesticated hares I have seen long and pointed droppings when they eat fresh grass daily and flat and round when they eat dry food (hay, rabbit food). I conclude that they become flat and more rounded because dry food in order to be absorbed (specifically if it is dry grass) needs more time to remain in the intestine of the hare, so, it is compressed by the intestine and takes this form; also, during summertime, that all kinds of grass are dry, not only it remains a lot in its intestine but after its day-long stay in the nest, as soon as it comes out it defecates near the nest and thus we find the droppings gathered near, while when it eats cool grass and especially in winter, we see smaller, darker, longer and scattered around droppings, as it continuously defecates during its nightly roaming. And not only that, but the abundance of food in winter helps it defecate faster so many times that its droppings are linked together with half digested grass.
Another thing I have many times observed is the behaviour of the hare when it goes to its nest but also in the afternoon when it comes out of it. These observations have been made in spring and in summertime. One morning, I was found watching the hares going down the slope towards the dells in order to sit in the dense. I was closely watching them with my bare eyes and at times with my binoculars; I watched their behaviour which did not show any concern, as the only thing I observed was that they tended to stand, watch and listen the area around them, and by no means attempting to erase, as we say, the traces. The follow-up lasted for almost 2-2.5 hours that is to say from 5.00 in the morning up to 7.30. The hare observed the space and it would advance every ten metres. In the end, it moved either in a straight line, or with small zigzags and then entered some bush. Seldom did it come out to go somewhere further or would enter the bush once more. Never have I seen a hare making circles, coming back to its traces or creating some trouble. On the contrary, I have seen this take place only by hares that had left before the dog approached them and making various moves so as to tangle the dog.
I have also seen hares, when coming out in the afternoon, either come out of their nest and stay motionless up to 30 minutes, while observing and then run away, or others come out fast and with great leaps leave from their nest, as if they have an appointment with someone and they’re late.
I believe that the hare is camouflaged by nature and nature’s scents but also by high temperatures as well as cold ones, despite the tricks that we believe that this animal uses in order to hide. That is to say, I tend to believe that it is not the hare that plays tricks, but the difficulty the dog has to spot is because it is using its sense of smell, so, obligatorily it will search all likely points in every possible direction – until it accomplishes to locate the hare’s hiding place. My opinion is supported by the fact that there are many cases when the dog, while tracking the hare it may approach its hiding spot but many times it cannot locate it so it may even pass over it. There is a moment, however, provided that the hare makes the error to make a faint move, when the dog locates it and immediately attacks.
Also, we can never be certain that the hare that our dog flashed out of its hiding place is the same hare that had previously left the smell and which our dog sensed. That is to say, there are many cases when there are 2-3-4 hares in the same area, so our dog may track one of those, sense another one, but catch a third one. Such complicated situations are more possible to happen, than the tricks that we think the hare plays on its predator. Of course, there are dogs that are very experienced and can distinguish the scent of each hare, but there are also dogs that are not able to recognize its smell.
When there is snow, things are different, as we will see hares that may go somewhere in order to stay, then return by following their own steps and after that change course again and again until finally they end up sitting somewhere; but there are also hares which follow a straight course and choose to mix their traces with those of other hares and in the end no one knows who went where. In general, I believe what I have previously said, and it is that what the hare cares about is to ensure the safety of its hiding place which will not only offer security and convenient observation, but also an ability to easily escape; so, its primary concern is not to tangle us or our tracer dogs in our attempt to find its hiding place. This is evident in the mother, as she will not go to her little ones in order to nurse them but she will call them near her in order to suckle and then return to their place. The mother deliberately remains exposed so as not only to observe possible predators, but also to draw attention thus protecting her little ones. Still, there have been many cases when we met 2-3 hares together sitting in a close distance and when danger was near, only the males would run away to draw the attention of the dogs, leaving the females behind to protect their little ones.

TYPES OF HARES