Ethiopian highland hare facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ethiopian highland hare |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
|
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Lagomorpha |
| Family: | Leporidae |
| Genus: | Lepus |
| Species: |
L. starcki
|
| Binomial name | |
| Lepus starcki Petter, 1963
|
|
 |
|
| Ethiopian highland hare range | |
| Script error: The function "autoWithCaption" does not exist. | |
Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters".
The Ethiopian highland hare (also called Lepus starcki or Starck's hare) is a medium-sized mammal. It belongs to the rabbit and hare family, called Leporidae. Its fur on its back is a mix of buff white and black. Its belly fur is pure white and soft.
This hare lives only in the Ethiopian Highlands. You can find it in the high, cool mountain areas of Shoa, Bale, and Arsi Provinces in Ethiopia. It is a herbivore, meaning it eats plants. It mostly munches on grasses found in moorlands. Experts say it is a species of least concern. This means it is not currently endangered.
Contents
How the Ethiopian Highland Hare Got Its Name
A French scientist named Francis Petter first described this hare in 1963. At first, people thought it was a type of Cape hare. But in 1983, another scientist named Renate Angermann said it was its own separate species.
Later, in 1987, Maria Luisa Azzaroli-Puccetti also agreed it was a separate species. She thought it might be an older relative of the European hare. This is because their skulls look similar. In 2005, R.S. Hoffmann and A.T. Smith also listed it as a unique species. The Ethiopian highland hare does not have any known subspecies.
What the Ethiopian Highland Hare Looks Like
The Ethiopian highland hare is a medium-sized hare. It is about 46 to 60 cm (18 to 24 in) long. It weighs between 2 to 3.5 kg (4.4 to 7.7 lb). Its head is a mottled tawny color, similar to its back. Its chin is whitish, and its neck is tawny. Some hares have white rings around their eyes.
Its ears are medium-sized, about 10 to 11.5 cm (3.9 to 4.5 in) long. The top quarter of the ears is black. The edges of the ears have white or buff-colored fringe hairs. The fur on its back is grizzled, buff white, and has black spots and streaks. This fur is about 20 to 25 mm (0.79 to 0.98 in) long. The fur on its belly is pure white and fluffy.
The lower sides of its body are cinnamon russet. Its underparts are white, and its rump is gray. It has a bright cinnamon or reddish-brown patch on its neck. Its tail is medium-sized, about 7 to 12 cm (2.8 to 4.7 in) long. Hares from the Shoa Province have a completely white tail. Those from the Bale Mountains have a white tail with a black stripe down the middle.
Its feet are covered with dense brown hairs. The front legs are long and pale cinnamon. The hind feet are about 8.8 to 12 cm (3.5 to 4.7 in) long. They are cinnamon-buff on top and medium brown underneath.
This hare looks similar to the Abyssinian hare. However, the Abyssinian hare has silvery-gray fur and a narrow black rim on its ear tips. It also looks a bit like the African savannah hare. But that hare has brownish-orange ear tips and is not found in the Ethiopian plateau.
Where the Ethiopian Highland Hare Lives
The Ethiopian highland hare lives only in the central Ethiopian Highlands. It can be found in the high mountain areas of Ethiopia. This includes the central plateau of the Shoa Province. It also lives in the mountains of Bale and Arsi Provinces. It does not live in the Great Rift Valley, Ethiopia, which separates these two provinces.
There is not much information about where this hare lives and how it behaves. But we know it lives in specific mountain grasslands or moorlands. These are open highland areas. You can find it at elevations from 2,500 to 4,000 m (8,200 to 13,100 ft) above sea level.
In some parts of its home, the Ethiopian highland hare lives alongside the Abyssinian hare. In the grasslands of the Sanetti Plateau, there are about 0.3 hares per hectare. In other areas, like the Tullu Deemtu Mountain, there are fewer hares.
Diet and Life Cycle
The Ethiopian highland hare is a herbivore. This means it eats only plants. It mostly eats moorland grasses. Some of these grasses include bentgrass, goosegrass, Festuca, fountaingrass, and bluegrass.
Because it lives in such high places, it is thought that the hare reproduces during the dry seasons. A female hare usually has one baby per breeding season. Not much else is known about its reproduction or daily behavior.
The Ethiopian highland hare can be hunted by the Ethiopian wolf. It makes up a small part of the wolf's diet. The tawny eagle is also known to hunt this hare.
Status and Conservation
Since 1996, the Ethiopian highland hare has been listed as a species of least concern by the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species. This means it is not currently in danger of disappearing. Even though it lives in a small area of Ethiopia, there are thought to be many of them.
Experts say it is "quite abundant" and lives in protected areas. The number of hares in the population changes over time. But in 1990, it was reported as "relatively numerous." It lives in the protected area of the Bale Mountains. There are no major known threats to the Ethiopian highland hare right now.
 | Laphonza Butler |
 | Daisy Bates |
 | Elizabeth Piper Ensley |
