• Scrub hares are often mistakenly called rabbits
Image: GARETH JONES
It was early evening as I drove through the Langata forest section. In one area, there were many furry little creatures, hopping all over the place as the vehicle lights seemed to have an effect on them, freezing until the last moment and then running with a zig-zag motion.
The furry creatures are all scrub hares, often mistakenly called rabbits, but even though they do look similar, there are many differences. Rabbits are not found in the Nairobi Park and are born blind, naked and virtually helpless in a burrow, while the tougher hares are born with fur on the ground, can see at birth and can fend for themselves in a very short time.
Hares are generally larger, with longer ears and hind legs. In the wild, hares can breed rapidly but also have a very short lifespan usually not much more than a year or two at most. Hares have jointed, or kinetic, skulls, unique among mammals.
Interestingly, hares have 48 chromosomes while rabbits have 44. Hares and jackrabbits are leporids belonging to the genus Lepus. Hares are, therefore, also classified in the same family as rabbits.
Hares are a food source to many predators, ranging from snakes to eagles, serval cats, and even leopards. Rabbits and hares have different diets, rabbits prefer soft stems, grass or vegetables, hares eat more hard food: bark and rind, buds, small twigs and shoot.
A rabbit's fur coat remains the same colour year-round, while hares change colour from grayish brown in summer to white in winter. Hares also have excellent camouflage with the coat patterns.
So next time you are in the park in the early morning or evening, watch out for the scrub hares as well. You never know what predators you might see while you do that.