Hare-hare
| Latin name: |
Lepus europaeus |
| Family: |
Crochet |
Заяц-русак Относится к крупным зайцам: длина тела 57—68 см; масса 4—6 кг, редко — до 7 кг. Самые крупные особи встречаются на севере и северо-востоке ареала. Телосложение хрупкое. Внешне русак хорошо отличается от беляка более длинными ушами (9,4—14 см), длинным клиновидным хвостом (7,2—14 см длиной), чёрного или чёрно-бурого цвета сверху. Глаза красновато-коричневые. Задние конечности длиннее, чем у беляка, но лапы короче и уже (длина ступни 13,6—18,5 см), поскольку русак обитает в регионах, где снеговой покров сравнительно неглубокий и твёрдый. Летняя окраска бывает охристо-серая, бурая, коричневая, охристо-рыжая или оливково-бурая, разных оттенков. Характерны крупные тёмные пестрины, образованные концами волос подшёрстка. Концы остевых волос охристые. Шерсть русака блестящая, шелковистая, заметно извитая. Бока окрашены светлее спины; живот белый, без ряби. Вокруг глаз белые кольца. Кончики ушей круглый год чёрные. Зимний мех немногим светлее летнего (в отличие от беляков, русаки никогда не бывают зимой белоснежными); голова, кончики ушей и передняя часть спины и зимой остаются тёмными. Половой диморфизм в окраске отсутствует. В кариотипе 48 хромосом.
Как и у всех зайцев, линька у русаков проходит весной и осенью. Весенняя линька обычно начинается во второй половине марта и длится 75—80 дней, заканчиваясь к середине мая. Наиболее бурно она протекает в апреле, когда шерсть выпадает клочьями. Общее направление линьки — от головы к задней части тела. Осенью летние волосы постепенно выпадают, и им на смену подрастает густой и пышный зимний мех. Направление осенней линьки обратно направлению весенней — она начинается с бёдер, затем переходит на круп, хребет, передние лапы и бока. Дольше всего летний мех остается на спине и около глаз. Начало линьки обычно приходится на сентябрь; заканчивается она в конце ноября, хотя при тёплой погоде может затянуться до декабря. Distribution Rusak is a native steppe animal of Europe, the Near and Middle Asia and North Africa. His resettlement to the north probably began no earlier than the middle of the Quaternary period. Currently, it is distributed in the steppes, forest-steppes, tundra and low-growing areas of the forest zone of Europe, in the north to Ireland, Scotland, southern Sweden and Finland, in the south to Turkey, Transcaucasia, Iran, the north of the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, northern Kazakhstan. Fossil remains are known from the Pleistocene deposits of Azerbaijan and the Crimea. Within Russia it is found throughout the European part of the country to the northern coasts Ladoga и Onega Lake, Northern Dvina; далее граница распространения идёт через Киров, Пермь, огибая Уральские горы, через Курган до Павлодарской области Казахстана. Южная граница проходит через Закавказье, Прикаспий, Устюрт, северное Приаралье до Караганды. Акклиматизирован в ряде районов Южной Сибири (предгорные районы Altai, Salair and Kuznetsk Alatau). Produced in the Altai and Krasnoyarsk regions, in the Novosibirsk, Kemerovo, Irkutsk and Chita regions. Acclimatized in the Far East: in the Khabarovsk Territory released in 1963-1964. (Jewish Autonomous Region), in 1965 - in Primorsky Krai (Ussuriysky and Mykhailivsky Districts). In Buryatia, acclimatization attempts were unsuccessful. Artificially settled in North America. So, the hare was brought to the state of New York in 1893 and in 1912 - to the province of Ontario (Canada). It is now found, mainly in the Great Lakes region. He was also imported to Central and South America; Was acclimatized in New Zealand and southern Australia, where it became a pest.
Life An inhabitant of open spaces, forest-steppe, steppe, desert-steppe landscapes. Its main habitats in the forest zone are open spaces: fields, meadows, fringes, extensive felling, glades, gari. In the depths of coniferous massifs it is rare, more common in deciduous forests, although here it prefers woodlands. Особенно любимы русаком участки, где сельскохозяйственные угодья чередуются с небольшими перелесками, зарослями кустарников и сетью оврагов и балок. In the forest-steppe and steppe zones it occurs along the beams, floodplains of rivers, in deposits and crops of grain crops. В горах водится до альпийского пояса, обитая не только по горным степям, но и в лесах. Летом поднимается в горах до 1500—2000 м, зимой спускается вниз. Everywhere it gravitates toward populated areas (especially in winter), as well as to reservoirs. Normally a hare is a settled territorial beast. Depending on the habitat of the habitat, it can permanently keep on one site, occupying 30-50 ha. In other regions, the Rusaks make daily trips from the places of the spoons to the places of feeding, passing ten kilometers. There are also seasonal movements; In autumn and winter, a hare is often moved closer to the settlements, the outskirts of the forests and to elevated areas where there is less snow. In the mountains they fall down in the floodplains of the rivers in autumn, and in the spring they climb back to the mountains. Under adverse conditions (high snow cover, ice crust), preventing the production of food from under the snow, there are massive migrations. В южных районах перемещения русаков отмечены в весенне-летний период и связаны с хозяйственной деятельностью человека. Активны русаки преимущественно в сумеречные и ночные часы. Only during the rutting period there is daily activity. The greatest activity is in the first half of the night and in the pre-hours. For a single fat, the hare goes up to several kilometers; Animals living in open areas usually pass more than those who live near forest fringes and in the bush. Under adverse conditions, a haremaker can not go on fattening for several days. The hare of a hare in the summer is usually just a small hole dug under the cover of a bush, a fallen tree or curtains of tall grass. Often it simply lies under a bush or in a field boundary. Constant burrows do not suit, sometimes digs temporary day holes in extreme heat. Can rest in abandoned burrows badgers, foxes and marmots. The location of the hare's hideouts depends on the season and weather conditions. Spring laying is often located in warm places; In rainy weather the hare keeps on the more dry heights, but in dry, on the contrary, in the lowlands. In winter, the hiking takes place in the snow in a place closed from the wind; In areas with deep snow, hares sometimes dig burrows up to 2 m. Often, Rusak lie in autumn and winter in haystacks, near buildings on the outskirts of populated areas. The hare runs faster than the white fox; His jumps are longer. На коротком расстоянии способен развить скорость бега до 50—60 км/ч по прямой. Confuses the tracks. He can swim well. Как и все зайцы, русаки — тихие звери; только будучи пойманными или раненными, они издают высокий пронзительный крик. The female calls to borrow, issuing quiet sounds. An anxious mermaid snaps his teeth, as do many rodents. Another kind of communication is rapping with paws, like a knock on a drum.
Food В летнее время русак питается растениями и молодыми побегами деревьев и кустарников. Чаще всего съедает листья и стебли, но может выкапывать и корни; во второй половине лета поедает семена (способствует их распространению, так как не все семена перевариваются). Состав кормов летнего рациона весьма разнообразен — различные дикорастущие (одуванчик, цикорий, пижма, птичий горец, сурепка, клевер, люцерна) и культурные (подсолнечник, гречиха, злаки) растения. Охотно поедает овощные и бахчевые культуры. Зимой, в отличие от беляка, он продолжает кормиться семенами и ветошью трав, озимыми, остатками огородных культур, выкапывая их из-под снега. При глубоком снеговом покрове переходит на питание древесной и кустарниковой растительностью (побеги, кора). Охотнее всего объедает клён, дуб, лещину, ракитник, а также яблони и груши; осину и иву, излюбленные беляком, потребляет реже. Заячьи зимние копанки любят посещать серые куропатки, которые не способны разрыть снег сами.
Reproduction The duration and timing of the breeding season for hares differ depending on the part of the range. So, in Western Europe it usually lasts from March to September; For this time about 75% of females have time to bring on 4 brood, and in the years with warm winter and early spring - and 5. In favorable climatic conditions, the gong continues throughout the year, and the first bunnies appear in January. In the north of the range of broods 1-2. In the middle zone of Russia, the first gong is held in late February - March (males are active since January), the second - in April - early May, the third - in June. Pregnancy lasts 45-48 days, so the first bunnies appear in April - early May, the second brood - at the end of May - June (the peak of reproduction), the third - in August. Repeated rabbits mate immediately after birth, and sometimes even before them. In general, the rusk among the Russian hounds is not as friendly as that of the whites, so that pregnant females and bunny can be found earlier and later than usual seasons. The amount borrowed in the brood varies from 1 to 9. The size of the brood is influenced by many conditions. In general, broods are larger in areas where hares have fewer reproductive cycles. Winter, early spring and autumn broods are smaller than summer ones - in them 1-2 lynx. The middle-aged females bring the most. Before giving birth, females arrange primitive nests from the grass, dig holes or, in a hot climate, shallow burrows. Zaychat are born sighted and covered with fur, weight 80-150. The female comes to feed the offspring once a day, and sometimes even less - up to 1 times in 4 days. From 5 the days of life of rabbit begin to move near the place of birth; To 2 weeks reach the weight of 300-400 g and already actively eat grass, and in 3-4 the weeks become independent. There are known cases of feeding zaychihami strangers borrowed, provided that they are of the same age as her own, but this is observed less often than a whitefly. Sexual maturity of Rusak usually reach only the next spring; Very rarely, in the western parts of the range, the females begin to reproduce in the same summer. Known hybrids of hares with whites (cuffs). They were found both in nature and received when keeping the zoo in the zoo. When kept in captivity cuffs are able to multiply. Life expectancy of Russian hags 6-7 years (in exceptional cases survived to 10-12 years), but most of the animals live no more than 4-5 years.
Number and significance for man In general, the hare-hare is the most common species, whose number in some years reaches many millions of individuals. The number of people undergoes significant changes in terms of years, depending on various factors: epizootics, lack of feed, etc., but they are not as sharp as in the whitefish. In the taiga, the cycle of oscillations is 10-11 years, in the south of the range fluctuations are more frequent and disorderly. Rusak is a valuable game animal, an object of amateur and sport hunting. Annually is extracted in significant quantities for meat and skins. Can harm winter crops, orchards and nurseries: overnight a hare can swallow 10-15 fruit trees. In Argentina, Australia and, to a lesser extent, in North America, introduced hares are pests of agriculture. Rusak suffer a number of diseases. Although they, in contrast to the whites, are less susceptible to diseases with pulmonary-helminthic disease and less often are infected with hepatic trematodes, coccidiosis is widespread among them, especially among young animals. Mass mortality from this disease is between the ages of 5 weeks and 5 months. Known epizootic pasteurellosis, tularemia, porcine brucellosis and other infectious diseases; Is a carrier of toxoplasmosis. Rusaks are more likely than unfriendly people to suffer from unfavorable weather conditions. Especially pernicious for them are snow-capped, blizzard winters that do not allow hares to feed normally, and unstable springs with alternating thaws and frosts, during which early broods die. A certain role in the changes in numbers is played by predators. Foxes, wolves, coyotes, lynxes, eagles hunt furrows.
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