Norfolk Brown Hares - native or introduced?

The true origin of brown hare Lepus europaeus in Great Britain is something of a mystery — there is evidence of its presence from the Iron Age onwards, but not much before that. The third-century AD author, Dio Cassius reported that Queen Boudicca (who had her head quarters in Thetford, Norfolk) released a live hare in order to divine the outcome of her battle with the Romans, calling upon the goddess Andraste to secure their victory. Observing the iron age Britons in their early interactions, Caesar commented that they did not regard it ‘lawful’ to eat hares, but that they did breed them for ‘amusement and pleasure’, perhaps even keeping them as pets. Brown hares are now very common in Norfolk, although numbers have shown a steady decline in England since the 1960s.

Posted on February 12, 2022 08:27 PM by heliastes21