Mountain Hare, Inari, Lapland, Finland

The Mountain Hare (Lepus timidus) is a hare, which is largely adapted to polar and mountainous habitats. It is distributed from Fennoscandia to eastern Siberia; in addition there are isolated populations in the Alps, Ireland, Poland, the United Kingdom and Hokkaido. It has also been introduced to Shetland and the Faroe Islands.....While the fur is brown in summer, in preparation for winter this species moults into a white (or largely white) pelage. The Irish race (Lepus timidus hibernicus) stays brown all year and only rarely do individuals develop a white coat. The Irish race may also have a dark/grey upper surface to the tail. This combined with the various shades of brown that the Irish hare may display could lead to observers confusing a sighting with a brown hare. In Scandinavia, the hare turns completely white...

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Filename: IMG_6483_arctic_hare_drr.jpg
Copyright: 2005 Dave Walsh.
Image Size: 2712x2145 / 4.6MB; https://www.photoshelter.com/support/license; https://www.davewalshphoto.com/contact; Mountain Hare Inari Lapland Finland lepus timidus polar mountainous mountain nature sami finnish wildlife snow winter coat moult camouflage taiga tundra boreal forest Blue Hare Tundra Hare Variable Hare White Hare Alpine Hare and Irish Hare medelpad Fennoscandia siberia scandanavia norway sweden russia europe european arctic biodiversity biodiversity
Contained in galleries: Finland Stock Photographs, Portfolio: Wildlife

The Mountain Hare (Lepus timidus) is a hare, which is largely adapted to polar and mountainous habitats. It is distributed from Fennoscandia to eastern Siberia; in addition there are isolated populations in the Alps, Ireland, Poland, the United Kingdom and Hokkaido. It has also been introduced to Shetland and the Faroe Islands.....While the fur is brown in summer, in preparation for winter this species moults into a white (or largely white) pelage. The Irish race (Lepus timidus hibernicus) stays brown all year and only rarely do individuals develop a white coat. The Irish race may also have a dark/grey upper surface to the tail. This combined with the various shades of brown that the Irish hare may display could lead to observers confusing a sighting with a brown hare. In Scandinavia, the hare turns completely white...