Wow do I need a bit of light relief from the troubles of the world right now! I sure hope the conflict in Ukraine isn't going to end badly, but a quick glance at the news & social media channels tells you all you need to know about how people these days are as hooked on the hype as they are concerned about those directly affected by this power grab. There's only so much 'coverage' I can stand, I need to get out and get that light relief!
In the natural world, such power struggles are routine, they happen every day - kill or be killed, breed or don't breed, feed or die. Blood curdling stuff but it's been ever thus, maintaining the natural balance and providing us all with the wonder of wildlife, with the only real harm being done by us humans and asteroids. Great theatre too and for me the perfect antidote to all this unnecessary warmongering.
A few hours spent in the countryside, tramping around my local fields soon restored a bit of balance to my world, and whilst I wasn't looking for any parallels, these 2 Brown Hares I'd been looking at chasing each other around only started to do a bit of 'boxing'!
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| Brown Hares, Fangfoss Park, 22/02/2022 |
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| Brown Hares, Fangfoss Park, 22/02/2022 |
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| Brown Hares, Fangfoss Park, 22/02/2022 |
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| Brown Hares, Fangfoss Park, 22/02/2022 |
As far as I understand it's usually the females (does) that usually initiate the boxing in response to over amorous testosterone fuelled males (bucks) that chase them across the fields. All sorted out in a flash and a thrill to see so if you ever see a couple of Hares chasing each other this spring, keep watching - you might get lucky!
