High on Eyam Moor, Derbyshire, the landscape offered a vibrant tapestry of colours and sounds. Meadow vetch and lady's bedstraw turned the trackside a bright yellow, while heath bedstraw made the moor glitter white. Small heath butterflies fluttered restlessly, and a skylark provided a rich, ceaseless accompaniment from overhead. Near the farmhouse and a stand of sycamores, goldfinches added a saccharine flourish.
The Disappearing Leveret
Despite this abundance of life, the creature I had come to see was absent. It had recently departed, leaving only the impression of where it had lain. Near a gritstone field wall close to the farm, the long grasses had been flattened into a rough circle, known as a 'form', where a leveret had spent its early weeks. Human neighbours had alerted me to its presence, but I had waited too long to visit. The hare had vanished like a ghost. Yet, even in disappointment, there was something thought-provoking and moving about this fragile refuge.
Lagomorphs in Britain
Britain is home to only three lagomorphs: the native mountain hare, which has a small colony in the Peak District, and two more recent arrivals—the brown hare and the rabbit. Hares and rabbits employ profoundly different reproductive strategies. Rabbit kits are born naked and blind, relying on the security of a burrow to reach maturity. Hares produce fewer offspring, but their young are born ready for a perilous world, furred and with eyes open. Their irises soon lighten to a sumptuous bronze, which, along with their rangy bodies and tall ears, characterises these magical creatures.
Subterfuge as Survival
Subterfuge is the hare's game—more accurately, hiding in plain sight. The mother visits only at dusk to suckle her young, a process that takes just a few minutes. Otherwise, the youngster hunkers down alone, lest the mother's presence attract a passing fox or stoat. It will even move away from its form to defecate, so that odour does not reveal its presence. A light touch is the hare's disappearing trick. Away down the track, I spotted two black-tipped ears above some thistles, and then they were gone.
Under the Changing Skies: The Best of the Guardian's Country Diary, 2018-2024, is available now at guardianbookshop.com.
