Halaoran Giant Hare

From NSwiki, the NationStates encyclopedia.
Jump to: navigation, search
<div" class="plainlinksneverexpand">halaorangianthare02.jpg
A young Halaoran Hare watching his surroundings.
</div>

The Halaoran Giant Hare (Lepus corulavescus) (also simply known as Halaoran Hare or Nipatea) is a species of hare indigenous to Baranxtu and Jonquiere-Tadoussac. It is the major herbivore of the mountains. As such, it is also an important source of food for all carnivores in the mountains, and it was for the native population, as well. Nowadays, Halaoran Giant Hares are only hunted by humans in sports hunting, their fur is harvested in fur farms.

Appearance

The Halaoran Giant Hare has a white fur that grows long and thick during late summer and autumn in preparation for winter. They shed their coat in early spring to grow a slightly shorter fur that is largely white with a few blurry brown or black spots. Notably, the tips of their ears are black during the whole year.

Adult hares can grow quite large, with an average length of 90cm-110cm. In early summer, they weigh about 12kg, but at the beginning of winter they often weigh about 18kg.

As a result of their rather stocky figure, they have lost some of their jumping skills; however, they are still very good runners.

Behavior

<div" class="plainlinksneverexpand">halaorangianthare03.jpg
A drawing of a group of Halaoran Giant Hares in summer.
</div>

They live in small groups of 15-25 individuals. Unusual for hares, they inhabit burrows - this is usually a habit limited to rabbits; however, unlike these, they do not dig these burrows themselves, but rather look for abandoned burrows of other animals. Suitable ones are rather rare, so they often have to resort to dead, hollow trees or larger caves which do not offer the same kind of protection.

During the day, they wander about as a group. While some are grazing, others keep watch and if a possible danger approaches, they warn the others with whistling sounds. After a while, the hares switch roles, enabling all to eat as much as possible.

During dusk, the hares retreat to their burrows, caves or other hiding place. As a result of the usually cold nights in the mountains, they lie down very close to each other as a method of staying warm. Although they have rather poor eyesight at night, a few stay awake, watching again for dangers. Once their 'shift' ends, they wake others, so the group is relatively safe during the nights.

Compared to other hares, the Halaoran Giant Hare has a relatively short mating period from late February until late July. In this time, a female hare gives birth between two and three times. Their growth rate, however, stays very low due to the harsh conditions and the many predators.



Diet

Like all hares, the Halaoran Giant Hare is a strictly herbivorous animal. They usually eat any type of vegetation available, and are considered a pest by mountain farmers in lower, relatively temperate regions, as some groups of the hares are known to migrate into lower areas for a few weeks in early summer.

In winter, they rely on their fat reserves on the one hand, but they also feed of the leaves of various species of conifers growing as shrubs. Standing on their hind legs, the can reach the tops of a few of the smaller bushes in the mountains.

Predators and Hunting

<div" class="plainlinksneverexpand">halaorangianthare.jpg
An adult Halaoran Hare at the end of autumn in the mountains.
</div>

A lot of predators rely on the Halaoran Giant Hare as their main source of food, among them the Halaoran Tiger and the Halaoran Lynx.
The majority of hares fall prey to these carnivores over the first three years of their lives, with only a small percentage dying of old age.

In former times, the Halaoran Giant Hare was also an important food for the native people of the mountains, and where usually hunted during the winter when their meat was especially rich in nutrients.
Today with food being readily available throughout the area, the hares are only rarely hunted for venison. Although their coat is used in the textile industry, the furs are won in fur farms, as they are much cheaper and often of better quality than the natural fur. The center of this fur production is Cikoutimi.

Habitat

The Halaoran Hare can be found in Halaora and to a lesser extent also in Leumena, throughout the northern areas of Jonquiere-Tadoussac and probably in other mountainous areas as well that have yet to be thouroughly explored.

Although they prefer a cold, snowy climate where there camouflage works best, they need to live in regions that do not only consist of permafrost soil where they can live in the burrows dug by other animals.

The vegetation in their habitat mostly consists of small conifers (often also in the form brush) with a few relatively plain areas where grass and flowers can grow in spring.

Names

  • English: Halaoran Giant Hare, Nipatea
  • French: Grand Lièvre Halaorien, nipaté
  • Baranxeï: nipatēa
  • Chicoutim: nipatea