The difference between rabbit and hare

Let's start at the beginning. Baby hares, known as leverets, are born after a 42 day gestation period, they are already covered in fur, their eyes are open and they are essentially ready to go. Baby rabbits, which are called kittens or kits, on the other hand, enter the world after an average of just 30 days in utero, and are born blind and hairless with no capacity to regulate their own temperature.

Those differences set the stall for the rest. Rabbits, also affectionately termed bunnies, and hares also nest differently. The former is famed for its burrowing habits and creation of intricate warrens, while its bigger cousins with the longer ears and longer feet, lives entirely above ground.

As fable has it, the hare failed to cross the finish line first in his race with the tortoise, but that, Aesop would tell us, had more to do with arrogance than speed. If, having learned from the error of his ways, a hare was to race against a rabbit, it would almost certainly win. The European hare can run at 37 body lengths a second, or up to 56 km per hour. Rabbits, depending on the breed, can manage between 25 and 45.

If any doubt about the differences between the two remains, try domesticating a hare. They are far less sociable than bunnies, and skittish at the best of times. Hardly surprising, given that the mating ritual involves spending hours on end walloping each other round the face. If we had to suffer that, we'd be living with permanent concussion. Perhaps they are too. Could that be where the term harebrained comes from?