WILDLIFE IN PLAIN ENGLISH

Not mad,
just busy.

Two hares rear up in a spring field and trade blows.

Two brown hares squaring up on their hind legs, front paws raised, in a misty green spring field at dawn — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

Mostly jills saying no
Leverets wait alone
Speed is the defence
A field guide to the brown hare

It looks like madness, and it gave us the phrase 'mad as a March hare'. Conservation charities explain it as courtship: most boxing is a female telling an over-keen male to back off.

Updated 18 October 2026

THE SHORT ANSWER

A courtship,
not a brawl.

Brown hares are solitary most of the year.
Spring brings them together, briefly and noisily.

BOXING

The jill says no

The People's Trust for Endangered Species says boxing hares are females fending off amorous males, standing upright and striking out with their front paws.

Why March?

LEVERETS

Born ready

Unlike rabbit kits, leverets are born furred, with open eyes, above ground. Their mother keeps them in separate forms and visits each about once a day after dusk.

Spot the difference

SPEED

Up to 72 km/h

Hares have no burrow to run to. Speed is their main defence, and as they run they tuck the tail down, hiding its white underside.

See the numbers

HARE OR RABBIT?

What did
you see?

Pick a clue to see what it tells you. The bar shows how strongly that clue points to a brown hare rather than a rabbit.

Identification points from the People's Trust for Endangered Species and the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust.

Field check

Choose a clueFeeding at dusk in a fieldDisappeared down a holeBig, tall and leggyVery long, black-tipped earsRan off with tail tucked down

Feeding at dusk in a fieldCould be either

Hares are mostly active at night and forage at dusk and dawn, so timing alone does not settle it. Look at the ears, the tail and how it runs.

Disappeared down a holeRabbit

Hares do not make burrows. They live above ground, resting in shallow dips called forms, up to 10cm deep.

Big, tall and leggyProbably a hare

Hares are much larger than rabbits, about twice the body weight, at 2-5kg, with long hind legs.

Very long, black-tipped earsBrown hare

Brown hares have tawny fur and very long, black-tipped ears, about the same length as the head.

Ran off with tail tucked downBrown hare

A running hare tucks its tail down so the white underside is hidden. A rabbit holds its tail up, flashing white.

Sources: PTES, Brown hare facts and figures; WWT, The hare-raising antics of the brown hare (2020); Shropshire Wildlife Trust, Brown hare.

TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING

Fast, and more
common again.

One figure on how fast a hare can go,
one on how many live in Great Britain.

72 km/h

Running speed when escaping predators

PTES says brown hares can run at up to 72 km per hour. WWT gives 45 mph and notes how quickly and often they change direction.

TOP SPEED · PTES

579,000

Estimated brown hares in Great Britain

PTES cites a GB population of 579,000 and says the Breeding Bird Survey, which also records mammals, showed a 27% rise in the rural population between 1995 and 2022.

POPULATION · PTES

Brown hares are most abundant in lowland cereal-growing counties, particularly East Anglia, and rare in south-west England, according to PTES. Their main predator is the fox.

A brown hare in full stride across a ploughed field, front and hind legs stretched out and black-tipped ears raised — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

FOUR TIPS FOR HARE WATCHING

Where and when
to look.

These follow what the wildlife charities say about hare habits and habitat.

Go in March and April
The wildlife crime unit's guide calls these the most interesting months, when courtship and boxing begin.
Choose open farmland
Hares favour arable fields, grassland with long grass and hedgerows, and open fen and wetland reserves.
Be out at dawn or dusk
Hares are mostly active at night and generally forage at dusk and dawn.
Scan for a low hump
By day a hare often lies flat in its form, a shallow dip in the grass, and is easy to miss.

WHY 'MAD AS A MARCH HARE'

Spring makes
them stand out.

Brown hares are mainly solitary, but they gather in small groups in late winter and during courtship, which often involves several males chasing a female. The leaping, chasing and boxing look wild beside their usual quiet habits.

PTES points out that boxing happens throughout the breeding season, which runs from February to September, not only in March. Females can have up to four litters a year, and the young are weaned after 3 to 4 weeks.

A brown hare crouched low in a shallow form in long grass, ears flat along its back — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

Questions

Questions people ask

Why do hares box?

Most boxing is a female (jill) fending off a male (jack) that is pressing his attentions during courtship. She stands upright and strikes out with her front paws. Some bouts are between competing males.

Is boxing only in March?

No. PTES says it happens throughout the breeding season, over several months, although March and April are the classic time to see it.

What should I do if I find a leveret on its own?

Leverets are normally left alone in their forms. WWT says the mother visits each one in turn about once every 24 hours, shortly after dusk, to feed and clean it.

How can I tell a hare from a rabbit?

Hares are much bigger, with very long black-tipped ears, live above ground rather than in burrows, and run with the tail tucked down. Rabbits flash a white tail as they run.

Are brown hares native to Britain?

PTES says they are thought to have originated in central Asia and were probably introduced to Britain in Roman times. WWT notes that the mountain hare is the UK's only native hare.

Not mad,
just busy.