What kind of ears does a hare have? Why does a hare have long ears? Does a hare always change his coat?

To hear better, you will answer, and you will be right. Of the sense organs, the hare has the most developed hearing, the sense of smell operates at a short distance, and the hare's vision is average, adapted as for twilight.

The hare is very careful, skillfully hides in its den, when moving it confuses its tracks, moving against the wind, and until the last moment it does not reveal its presence by movement. He just lies with his big ears pressed to his body.

There were cases when hunters came close to a hare and, mistaking it for a dead or wounded animal, checked with the barrel of a gun, like a stick, whether it was alive or not. And only after that, making a dizzying somersault in the air, the hare pressing his big ears back, he fled for his life.

If the hare has to flee, he is saved not only by his fast legs, but also by his large ears: heat is transferred through them during fast running.

Naturally to protect yourself from predators! It often happens that a hare dives from above. Then he turns over on his back and, like a real boxer, fights off her with all four paws, and with such force that he can rip open his opponent with his claws.

By the way, all hunters know this and yet constantly suffer from the sharp claws of the wounded hare.

Is it true that hares play leapfrog?

Hares playing leapfrog - photo

It's not surprising, but it's true. The very name and rules of the game of “leapfrog” were learned by our ancestors from the hare, although at first it was just the dizzying somersaults of hares fleeing from hunters, and only then did biology scientists studying the habits of the hare in the wild confirm that these jumps are used in mating games

The hare is the hero of many fairy tales, fables and proverbs. Each of us knows that a bunny has long ears, a short tail, it is gray in summer and white in winter, that this animal is very cowardly and always flees, leaning on its long legs. But is this always the case? Can this be said about all the hares on our planet? Indeed, among the hare family there are very unusual representatives who sometimes differ from their fellows not only in appearance, but also in bizarre behavior, which is completely unusual for hares.

Why is the hare called oblique?

The hare is often called oblique. Indeed, his bulging eyes are far apart, and his neck is very flexible. Therefore, when the animal flees, it squints its eyes back. The hare is able to see 360° around him. But this does not always help him, because he does not pay close attention to what is in front and often, running away from one predator, falls into the clutches of another.

Why does a hare have long legs?

The timid animal has a lot of enemies, because it has nothing to defend itself with - it has no sharp horns, strong claws or large teeth. Therefore, his only salvation is to escape. There are many hunters for the hare: it is often pursued by wolves, foxes, martens, owls, eagles and other predatory animals and birds. But catching a long-legged animal is not so easy. Noticing the danger, the hare flees, leaning on its strong hind legs. It is capable of reaching speeds of up to 65 km/h. At the same time, it loops, makes sharp turns, and jumps up - sometimes higher than a meter, trying to confuse its tracks and throw the enemy off the trail. The hare is a real master at confusing tracks. While escaping, the scythe also has time to look around to see if there is a hunter or predator nearby.

Can a hare fend for itself?

Cowardice and timidity are the main traits that are attributed to hares: “timid as a hare”, “hare soul”, etc. But sometimes hares give a worthy rebuff to the enemy. When neither speed nor agility helps a furry animal escape from a predator, then it uses its last attempt: it instantly falls on its back and with its strong hind legs tries with all its might to defend itself from the attacker. And although the hare rarely wins in this fight, it happens that the famous “coward” fends off predators and can even inflict quite serious wounds on them, scratching the enemy’s stomach and chest with his claws. There are known cases when predators died after such hare self-defense. During the mating season, males also fight for females. Standing on their hind legs, they cut each other with their claws - from such a fight, the fur flies in clumps in all directions! An angry female can also, like a boxer, fight off her boyfriend if she doesn’t like him in some way.

Does a hare always change its coat?

Hares change the color of their fur to camouflage themselves from their enemies. In summer, the gray coat makes the animal invisible among the grass and stones, and in winter, the hare’s fur turns white and hides it in the snow. But this does not happen everywhere. In Ireland, where there is no long-term snow cover, the bunny does not turn white in winter, it always remains gray. And on the coast of Greenland, where the air temperature rarely rises above +5° even in summer, the hares living there wear a white fur coat all year round.

The tree hare is a master at climbing trees

Everyone knows that hares live in burrows in the ground, but in Japan there is a hare that easily climbs trees. There he not only hides from enemies, but also feasts on shoots and leaves of trees or sleeps sweetly in a hollow. This is a tree hare.

He is completely different from his brothers: the tree bunny has dark brown fur, small eyes, short ears, a miniature, almost invisible tail only 2 cm long and short hind legs. The paws have long curved claws, which help it climb up the tree. These hares do not jump, as ordinary hares should, but move in dashes. In addition, they are nocturnal animals. When it gets dark, hares come down from the trees and go in search of juicy grass and acorns, which they love to feast on.

California hare - the most eared

Almost all hares are famous for their large ears. But among them there is also a record holder - the California hare, which is found only in the steppe regions of the USA. When you see him, the first thing that catches your eye is his large ears, which sometimes reach 60 cm. They are thin, wide and completely without hair. With the help of its huge ears, the hare not only picks up quiet sounds, but is also constantly in the shade, hiding from the sun, so the animal does not overheat in the heat.

water hare

This unusual bunny always settles near the water. And for good reason. After all, to escape the pursuit of predators, he without hesitation runs to the nearest body of water, boldly jumps into the water and rows with all his might to the other side. Its strong hind legs are well adapted for swimming: they have large, wide feet. The water hare is an excellent swimmer and can even submerge in water for 3-4 minutes, pushing only the tip of its nose to the surface. This way he can sit in the water for quite a long time until the predator leaves.

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Firstly, for cooling while running (heat is released from the surface of the ears). Secondly, to hear better (while lying down, the hare raises its ears - it does not get up on its own).

How does a wolf cool down when it runs after a hare?
Sticks out tongue. Wolves have sweat glands only on the pads of their paws, so wolves do not evaporate sweat from the skin, like we do, but water from the surface of the lungs, respiratory tract and mouth (when it’s hot, also from the surface of the tongue). Please note: during the cooling process, the wolf loses water all the time, but the hare does not.

How does a tiger cool down when it runs after a hare?
But no way. Cats, of course, have a little more sweat glands than dogs - but not so much that their work can cool them down. Perhaps overheating is one of the reasons that cats cannot run for long - half a minute, a minute - and hello.

More serious please

Please. There are two types of sweat glands: eccrine(small, secrete liquid sweat suitable for cooling) and apocrine(large, secrete a viscous secretion containing pheromones).

• Apocrine sweat glands are present in the skin throughout the body in both dogs and cats, hence the smell of “dog meat” and “cat meat”.

• Eccrine The glands in dogs are located only on the soles of the paws, and in cats - on the soles of the paws, on the cheeks and on the lips.

In humans, ears can also take part in cooling ().

(the further south an animal lives, the larger its ears) and (the further south an animal lives, the smaller it is).

Do Sphynx cats sweat?

As a great scientist, I believe that the secretions from the skin of “hairless” cats (Sphynx cats) are not sweat, but lard. In normal cats, sebum is spread throughout the fur to keep the coat “smooth.” In sphinxes, due to the lack of normal fur, the fat remains on the body - so it seems that they sweat. I was prompted to this hypothesis by two things: firstly, they write that the “sweat” of sphinxes, when dried, forms a waxy coating. Secondly, Wikipedia says: “Body oils, which would normally be absorbed by the hair, tend to build up on the skin. As a result, regular cleaning (usually in the form of bathing) is necessary,” which translated means something like: “Skin oils, which in normal cats are distributed throughout the coat, accumulate on the skin in Sphynx cats - as a result, they require regular baths."

© D.V. Pozdnyakov, 2009-2019

A collection of fairy tales for children and their parents. I wanted the children to understand after reading these fairy tales what kindness, mutual assistance, belief in the impossible, careful handling of their things and all that was brought up in Soviet times are.

* * *

The given introductory fragment of the book Bedtime stories. Collection of good fairy tales (Oleg Akatiev) provided by our book partner - the company liters.

© Oleg Akatiev, 2016

© Alexander Voznenko, illustrations, 2016

Created in the intellectual publishing system Ridero

Why do rabbits have long ears?

Many, many years ago, when the trees were large and tall, and because of this there was always twilight in the forest, because light could not break through the dense thickets of trees. When all the animals on Earth lived in harmony, there lived a hare. In those distant times he was not the same as he is now. Previously, he had small ears and small hind legs. And before he didn’t run as fast as he does now, because he had no enemies, and therefore there was no one to run away from. But he was just as much of a braggart as he is now.

With or without reason, he always boasted to every little animal:

- I can do everything! I can do everything! I am the fastest and most agile!

But all the animals got used to his boasting and looked at him the same way people now look at an alarm clock, that is, it rang, they remembered it, turned it off and forgot about it.

In the forest where the hare lived there was a large and swampy swamp. Everyone avoided it, because no one had ever managed to walk along it. And those who tried to do this were taken by the swamp, under the muddy, dark water. After which a terrible groan was heard throughout the forest:

This swamp was happy that it had swallowed its next victim. Hearing this groan, all the animals froze in place with fear and remained in this state until the groan stopped.

One fine day the hare decided to boast that he would cross this swamp. All the animals, of course, knew him as a braggart, but to decide on such a thing! So when the hare said:

- Tomorrow, you can all get together and watch me cross this trifling swamp!

All the animals wondered if he could really get through this terrible swamp?

The next day, all the animals, with the exception of the bear and the wolf, the strongest in the forest, gathered near the swamp and began to wait for the hare. After some time, the scythe himself appeared. The hare saw that so many animals had gathered, and this suddenly became very frightened, but it was too late to retreat. It’s one thing to show off in front of one hedgehog or two squirrels, and quite another when almost all the forest inhabitants have gathered to watch you cross this terrible swamp. And although the hare was a coward, he decided that he would prove to everyone how brave he was.

And then the hare took the first step through the swamp, all the animals froze. Then he took a second step... Despite the fact that all the animals were nearby, from the silence that was around, one would think that there was no one here, so everyone held their breath. Having taken the third step, the hare felt that he was falling through. Because of his strong excitement, he had not yet had time to understand what was happening to him, but just in case, when he had already fallen knee-deep into the swamp, he shouted as hard as he could:

– Help!... I’m drowning!

And this cry of the hare brought all the animals back from their stupor. All the animals ran around. Squirrels jumped up and down the trees, birds flew in and flapped their wings. But no one could reach the hare to grab him and pull him out of the swamp.

And the hare went into the quagmire already up to his waist. Then someone shouted shrilly:

- Bear! Wolf! Help, the hare is drowning in the swamp!

And the hare is already stuck up to his neck in the swamp. And then everyone heard it groan, pulling its next victim towards itself:

The hare had already gone completely into the swamp, only small ears remained. And suddenly, a wolf ran out of the bushes. Seeing what was happening here, the wolf immediately grabbed the small hare's ears with his teeth and began to pull with all his might. And now the hare already appears above the swamp - here is the head, here are the front paws, now he is already waist-deep in the water... But then, either the wolf weakened, or the swamp began to pull the hare towards itself even more tightly, only the hare slipped out and again began to plunge into swamp. The wolf, seeing the pitiful eyes of the hare, grabbed the poor fellow's ears with renewed vigor. This time the wolf did not let go of the hare’s ears from his teeth, and pulled him out of the swamp.

The poor hare was sitting on the grass, neither alive nor dead. All the animals were happy that the wolf saved this beloved braggart! Only they all now looked at him for some reason as if he were a stranger. A stranger, because it was a different hare. He developed long ears and long hind legs. The hare, noticing the surprised looks of his friends, looked around himself. His gaze lingered on the hind legs, for some reason they stretched out... And after touching his ears, he realized that the same thing had happened to them. And then, instead of words of gratitude, the hare began to shout at the wolf:

“What have you done to me, you gray toothy creature!” Who asked you to pull me out by the ears, you incredible beast! So that your tongue becomes just as long and doesn’t fit into your mouth? You are the scarecrow, not the wolf!

After such words, the wolf’s eyes sparkled, burning with hatred. He bared his sharp teeth and headed straight for the hare. The hare, seeing that an extremely unpleasant situation could happen now, backed away. And when the wolf jumped on him, the hare made such a noise, chirping that as he ran, he thought: “How good it turns out to be when you have such long hind legs!”

So to this day, the wolf chases the hare and cannot catch up with him. Because with legs as long as a hare’s, it’s not so easy to catch him!

White hare, where did he run?

Does everyone remember the answer? What exactly helps a hare run?

Of course - paws! By winter, the hare's paws become overgrown with dense fur, shaggy fur even grows between the toes, and the fur on the ears becomes denser and looks like velvet.

What do ears have to do with it? Yes, too, to run!

And the oblique has to run often and a lot. Either a twig will crack, or the snow will creak under someone’s paws, but the hare’s heart has already disappeared: must he run again?!

The gray one (and the white one in winter) has excellent hearing. This, of course, is due to his large, long ears. The hare has comfortable ears; put them upright, twisted them back and forth, set up your locators and receive all the forest news without delay! Again, it’s convenient to run: put your ears on your back, press them tightly and rush yourself in any dense undergrowth, you won’t damage your ears folded into a tube! But you need to stop, raise your sound detectors again and listen: how far is the chase? At the same time, you *cool down* from running.

Such ears are not just ears, but natural cooling radiators. Our bunny cannot sweat when running, he has almost no sweat glands, his body saves water and does not allow it to evaporate thoughtlessly. What should I do? If excess heat is not removed from the body, our scythe will cook in its own juice.

Mother Nature took pity on the little bunny and gave him ears with thick cords of veins that run right under the skin on the ears, and the vessels in them are visible and invisible, and the lumen of which is adjustable *in a wide range*. When the little one needs to “throw off” the heat, the vessels expand at full capacity, and when they are saved, they narrow. Our little bunny is not in danger of getting a headache from overheating, but his little head is not in danger of freezing either.

Such ears on the top of the head allow hares to live not only in harsh Russian forests, but also in arid deserts. Cooling due to heat exchange, you know, is a very beneficial gift from Mother Nature!

The hotter the climate, the more heat needs to be dissipated, so the most long-eared hares are the southern and desert hares. In the latter, the length of their ears is half the length of their body!

This was noticed back in 1877 by D. Allen and wrote a whole ecographic rule, calling it after himself. And it says approximately the following: among related forms of warm-blooded animals, those that live in colder climates have smaller protruding body parts (ears, legs, tail). And those who live in hot climates do the opposite.

Compare the photo of the average Russian hare and the *hermit*. Wow, what ears!!! And the glorious fennec fox is wow, how different his ears are from his usual little sister fox! This rule applies to all animals, and is 100% suitable for humans!

But we will not compare the ears of a hare and a rabbit. Although they belong to the same order of lagomorphs, rabbits are still not hares. These are two separate types. Hares and rabbits do not interbreed with each other and they do not have children!

For a long time, both hares and rabbits were considered rodents, but this turned out to be completely wrong. They are not rodents at all, they are lagomorphs!

And where can a rabbit catch up with our hare? Can it accelerate to 70 km? per hour, like our big-eared one? No, the rabbit is not a match for the hare, it is not a match!!!

And somehow our great-grandmothers and great-grandfathers managed without rabbits in the yard. How? Yes, they made do with hares! In the Arkhangelsk province, where frost below 40* is not uncommon, warm knitted things are very popular. There is also a white hare who lives there, who wears a gray coat in summer and a white coat in winter. One hare skin is not enough for good mittens, but I would also like a hat. There is a way out! The skin of a hare just needs to be... plucked. In itself, hare fur is very short-lived, but, thanks to the abundance of light fluff in winter, it is the warmest of all *downs*. There are almost no guard hairs on the winter skin, but there is plenty of fluff. Things made from hare down are surprisingly warm and comfortable.

Do you want to keep your ears from freezing? Go ahead, follow the hare! Play “Try and catch up!” with him.