And just like that — in a single day — we surpassed last year’s entire intake of brown hares.
These three undeniably adorable leverets (that’s the name for baby hares) sadly hadn’t needed to be admitted at all.
At just around a week old, they had been picked up at a car boot sale and handed to the organiser. Unfortunately, because no one knew exactly where they had come from, we were unable to return them to the wild — and their mother had almost certainly spent the past few days frantically searching for them.
Unlike rabbits, hares give birth above ground. After birth, the mother leaves her young and returns only once every 24 hours to feed them — and only for a few minutes. While this may seem risky, it’s actually a survival strategy: her absence helps avoid attracting predators to the nest, and the leverets’ coats keep them incredibly well camouflaged.
We completely understood why someone might think they needed rescuing — but sadly, this well-meaning action meant they would now have to grow up in care.
With nothing thankfully wrong with the leverets, they were given rehydration fluids by the vet team, before being transferred to a home-carer for one-on-one care.
Needing such a specific diet, leverets can be very difficult to hand-rear, with gut-stasis being a huge issue for both rabbits and hares. But, we are doing our best to pull all three through.
Nothing can replace the vital lessons they would have learned from their mother, so, please remember: if you ever come across a wild animal — especially one that seems orphaned — always call a wildlife rescue centre for advice before intervening. One call could mean the difference between a life in the wild and a life growing up around humans.
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