Mountain hares are small, fast animals that turn white in winter. They're a quick, easy release for the Scottish Highlands reserve, and in the Highlands career scenario releasing a mountain hare group is one of your early objectives.
Habitat
- A cold, temperate habitat. Hares are made for chilly hills and moorland.
- Grass and heather-type plants, with some rocky cover.
- A small shelter.
- Drinking water.
Hares don't need much space, so they fit in a small habitat in a European or northern section.
The release group
A mountain hare mixed group is 2 males + 2 females.
To build it:
- Send your hares to storage.
- Go to Trading & storage → Release groups and create a new group.
- Add two males and two females.
- Finalise it. Juveniles won't mature after finalising, so use adults.
Hares and owls need different ecosystems in the reserve. If you can't release them into the same one, check which ecosystems each species supports.
Breeding
Hares breed easily. A good strategy:
- Keep your best females in the zoo as breeders.
- Release the others.
Hares and predators
In the wild, hares are prey for golden eagles and lynx. That's useful for the reserve, because predators need prey present before they can be released.
Tips
- A mountain hare in its white winter coat is a lovely surprise for guests when the seasons change.
- The Scottish Highlands reserve has 11 species, and hares are one of the easiest. Start there if you're new to reserves.