Hare

The weight for a full-grown adult ranges from 2.5 to 6.5 kg. It can run at speeds of up to 70 km/h (45 mph)

Normally shy animals, hares change their behaviour in Spring, when they can be seen in broad daylight chasing one another around the fields in the Pelhams; this appears to be competition between males to attain dominance (and hence more access to breeding females).

Hare running

During this Spring frenzy, hares can be seen "boxing". This is where hares strike one another with their paws. For a long time it had been thought that this was more inter-male competition, but closer observation has revealed that it is usually a female hitting a male, either to show that she is not yet quite ready to mate or as a test of his determination.

In pre-Christian Britain the hare was associated with the spring goddess Eostre, and could be one of the roots for the Easter Bunny celebrations.