A new awareness campaign asks the public to leave baby hares alone for their own good.
Hares are having their babies right now, and the adorable animals are causing some confusion. The Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation Society has been overrun with baby hares that people thought were orphaned, when actually, they aren’t.
“It’s part of their natural ecology because these are mainly prey species,” said Jenna McFarland of the Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation Society. “It’s kind of horrifying to us, we feel a need to nurture, but its just not the way hares work. They are born fully furred, they are ready to go, eyes open, teeth in their mouth.”
The society has received more than 15 baby hares in the last two weeks, animals that should have been left in their natural environment.
Hares are a different species from rabbits, and have a whole host of behaviors that people are not familiar with, including leaving their young along most of the time.
“Their moms leave them because moms are really smelly, prey animals smell, they have real smelly oil glands around their anus, and they also urinate to attract mates. So, the baby hares don’t have that smell, mom leaves them lying around so she doesn’t attract predators to where the babies are,” said McFarland.
So what do you do if you find a baby hare in your yard? Leave it alone unless it’s in danger of being stepped on or injured by pets. In that case, pick it up carefully and move it somewhere out of the way, but not more than 50 metres. If the hare is clearly injured, then you can take it to a vet.
To see extended video about baby hares, click on the video link.
