It is hard to guess what a European hare weights. But we have the answer:
An adult European hare (Lepus europaeus) on average weights 3.82 kg (8.42 lbs).
The European hare is from the family Leporidae (genus: Lepus). It is usually born with about 123 grams (0.27 lbs). They can live for up to 12 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 52.6 cm (1′ 9″). On average, European hares can have babies 4 times per year with a litter size of 2.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
The European hare (Lepus europaeus), also known as the brown hare, is a species of hare native to Europe and parts of Asia. It is among the largest hare species and is adapted to temperate, open country. Hares are herbivorous and feed mainly on grasses and herbs, supplementing these with twigs, buds, bark and field crops, particularly in winter. Their natural predators include large birds of prey, canids and felids. They rely on high-speed endurance running to escape predation, having long, powerful limbs and large nostrils.Generally nocturnal and shy in nature, hares change their behaviour in the spring, when they can be seen in broad daylight chasing one another around in fields. During this spring frenzy, they sometimes strike one another with their paws (“boxing”). This is usually not competition between males, but a female hitting a male, either to show she is not yet ready to mate or as a test of his determination. The female nests in a depression on the surface of the ground rather than in a burrow and the young are active as soon as they are born. Litters may consist of three or four young and a female can bear three litters a year, with hares living for up to twelve years. The breeding season lasts from January to August.The European hare is listed as being of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature because it has a wide range and is moderately abundant. However, populations have been declining in mainland Europe since the 1960s, at least partly due to changes in farming practices. The hare has been hunted across Europe for centuries, with more than five million being shot each year; in Britain, it has traditionally been hunted by beagling and hare coursing, but these field sports are now illegal. The hare has been a traditional symbol of fertility and reproduction in some cultures and its courtship behaviour in the spring inspired the English idiom mad as a March hare.
Animals of the same family as a European hare
We found other animals of the Leporidae family:
- Jameson’s red rock hare bringing 2.38 kilos (5.25 lbs) to the scale
- Sumatran striped rabbit bringing 1.51 kilos (3.33 lbs) to the scale
- New England cottontail with a weight of 814 grams
- Mexican cottontail bringing 2.49 kilos (5.49 lbs) to the scale
- Mountain cottontail with a weight of 803 grams
- Hispid hare bringing 2.5 kilos (5.51 lbs) to the scale
- Abyssinian hare bringing 2.02 kilos (4.45 lbs) to the scale
- Black-tailed jackrabbit bringing 2.42 kilos (5.34 lbs) to the scale
- Tres Marias rabbit with a weight of 964 grams
- Antelope jackrabbit bringing 3.93 kilos (8.66 lbs) to the scale
Animals with the same weight as a European hare
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Lepus europaeus:
- Short-eared rock-wallaby with a weight of 4.02 kilos (8.86 lbs)
- Pagai Island macaque with a weight of 4.53 kilos (9.99 lbs)
- Northern naked-tailed armadillo with a weight of 3.74 kilos (8.25 lbs)
- White-throated guenon with a weight of 3.44 kilos (7.58 lbs)
- Large-spotted civet with a weight of 4.53 kilos (9.99 lbs)
- Black-and-white ruffed lemur with a weight of 3.86 kilos (8.51 lbs)
- Black-flanked rock-wallaby with a weight of 4.57 kilos (10.08 lbs)
- Hoary fox with a weight of 4.23 kilos (9.33 lbs)
- Southern tree hyrax with a weight of 3.18 kilos (7.01 lbs)
- Unadorned rock-wallaby with a weight of 4.56 kilos (10.05 lbs)
Animals with the same size as a European hare
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as European hare:
- Grivet with a size of 56 cm (1′ 11″)
- Red-eared guenon with a size of 43.5 cm (1′ 6″)
- Sable with a size of 45.1 cm (1′ 6″)
- White-cheeked spider monkey with a size of 46 cm (1′ 7″)
- Red-shanked douc with a size of 61.7 cm (2′ 1″)
- Pampas cat with a size of 61.6 cm (2′ 1″)
- African brush-tailed porcupine with a size of 43.1 cm (1′ 5″)
- Crab-eating mongoose with a size of 50.8 cm (1′ 8″)
- Menzbier’s marmot with a size of 45 cm (1′ 6″)
- Southern tree hyrax with a size of 49.9 cm (1′ 8″)
Animals with the same litter size as a European hare
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (2) as a European hare:
- Alston’s brown mouse
- Cinereus ringtail possum
- Unalaska collared lemming
- Crested porcupine
- Slender mongoose
- Hershkovitz’s marmoset
- Murree vole
- Jaguarundi
- Eastern harvest mouse
- Butiaba naked-tailed shrew
Animals with the same life expectancy as a European hare
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a European hare:
- Grant’s gazelle with an average maximal age of 12.67 years
- Hog badger with an average maximal age of 13.92 years
- Maxwell’s duiker with an average maximal age of 12.25 years
- Central American agouti with an average maximal age of 10 years
- Boodie with an average maximal age of 10 years
- Red brocket with an average maximal age of 13.75 years
- Mountain beaver with an average maximal age of 10 years
- Geoffroy’s tailless bat with an average maximal age of 10 years
- Masoala fork-marked lemur with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Red acouchi with an average maximal age of 10 years