The hare (Hues)
The hare is distinguished from the rabbit by its larger size and by its long ears. It is a mammal that lives in open fields and prairies. It likes the hedges that one often finds in this type of countryside because they provide such good hiding places. The population of hares has declined steadily in the past few years and it has even disappeared in certain regions. This is often wrongly blamed on predators such as the fox or birds of prey : the destruction of its traditional habitat by intensive farming and the use of pesticides has also decimated the hare population whose prolific reproduction was legendary in the old days.