Secretive baby hare caught on camera
The fruits of all that boxing over the winter are staring to appear at WWT Welney Wetland Centre, with a chance sighting of a baby hare this week.
A routine check of the wetland area known as Lady Fen, led to an encounter with one of the cutest and most elusive residents here.
Baby hares, called leverets, are incredibly secretive creatures. Once born, they are left out in the open, using tussocks of grass or mounds of earth for shelter. Whereas baby rabbits pass their first vulnerable weeks below ground, in the relative safety of a burrow. To avoid the attention of predators, leverets have to lay still for the majority of the day. They only feed from their mother for a few minutes each evening.
Shaun O’Driscoll, Stockman at WWT Welney, said:
“This is the first time I have seen a leveret in my three years working as the stockman for WWT Welney. It was a nice surprise to come across the baby hare, which was smaller than a rabbit, but those tell-tale long ears gave away its real identity.
“During the summer months I travel around the wetlands to check the herds of cattle, so I cover this area on a regular basis. Whilst I am used to enjoying great views of the adult hares, the youngsters have a real skill at staying hidden”.
Visitors can enjoy watching the adult hare from the Wigeon Cafe, which being on the first floor of the visitor centre offers the best vantage point.
