Annual production of young in European hares (<i>Lepus europaeus</i>) in the Netherlands

Abstract

In the Netherlands, hares have a period of sexual inactivity in autumn. Even though a reactivation of spermatogenesis was found from the second half of November onwards, first conceptions did not occur until the last week of December. Throughout January, the proportion of pregnant females increased to 80% in February in healthy adults, but only to 8% in diseased ones. Due to the spread in the start of the breeding season caused by variations in health and age, no synchronization in birth was found. Consequently, in order to be able to determine the annual production of young, the gradual change in pregnancy rate and mean litter size over the year had to be taken into account. Taking mean monthly values for healthy adult females, an average annual production of nearly 11 young was found. Compared with other European countries, annual production in the Netherlands is relatively high which is probably due to a comparatively long breeding season.