Hare

A Mountain hare, Lepus timidus, on the Cairngorm plateau. This one is moulting into its white winter coat.

Also sometimes known as the Arctic hare or Blue hare, this species of hare is found across Northern Europe from Scandinavia to Siberia, inhabiting tundra, boreal forest, moorland and mountainous areas.
Small populations also exist in the British Isles including Scotland. It is Britain's only true arctic-alpine mammal.
It's fur is greyish-brown in the summer and moults to white (or in lowland areas partly white) in the winter, providing camouflage. It's broad, fur-covered feet act like snow shoes.
It is largely solitary but may form groups of up to 70 individuals during harsh winters.
It has a life span of up to ten years (though 1 - 3 years is more common) and can reach a length of 60cm and a weight of 4kg.

In Scotland the mountain hare feeds largely on heather and other dwarf shrubs, and breeds right up to the highest summits but is seldom found below 400 metres.
Hare numbers are much higher over nutrient-rich rocks such as schists, as here in the southeastern Cairngorms, than over the granite of the main massif.
Their numbers fluctuate periodically by ten-fold or even twenty-fold, peaking roughly every ten years. This is also the case with ptarmigan, although the different species' population cycles are not in step, even on the same patch of ground.

Scottish mountain hares burrow into the snow for shelter like those in the high Arctic. They usually make shallow hollows and rest in the entrance, but also dig holes several feet deep which give excellent insulation and shelter.

Especially in the Cairngorms, mountain hares form an important part of the diet of golden eagles, and are also preyed upon by stoats and foxes.

Photographed in the county of Angus, Scotland, in December (Cairngorms National Park).

Location: Aberdeenshire, Scotland.