The Korean hare is a medium-sized, brownish hare found only on the Korean Peninsula and in neighboring northeastern China. Like other true hares, it doesn't dig burrows, and its babies are born furred with their eyes open. You won't find it in the wild in the US.
Appearance
- Appearance
- About 18–21 in (45–54 cm) long and 4.6–5.7 lb (2.1–2.6 kg). Brownish fur, paler underneath, with long ears and a short tail that has a black stripe on top.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Mountains
- Scrubland
- Farmland
- Range
- Native to the whole Korean Peninsula and Jilin Province in northeastern China. It does not occur in North America.
- Preferred conditions
- Lives everywhere from remote mountain forest to cultivated land, and is most common where shrub cover is thick.
Behavior
- Diet
- Plants, including grasses, leaves, and bark. In South Korea it has damaged barley crops and gnawed the bark of fruit trees, sometimes killing them.
- Activity
- Usually comes out to feed in open areas in the late afternoon and evening, using shrubs and rocks for cover.
Life cycle
- Nest
- Gives birth on the ground rather than in a burrow.
- Time to maturity
- Young are born fully furred with open eyes and can breed at about a year old.
Name and classification
- About the name
- It was once lumped in with the Japanese hare or the Chinese hare as a subspecies, but a 2010 genetic study supported it as its own species.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
More species to explore
Record what you meet and build your own collection
Your photos are kept with their date and place, and you can fill regional albums one species at a time.