Head to head
Rabbit vs Hare
Rabbits and hares look almost the same and are constantly confused, not helped by names like the jackrabbit, which is a hare, and the Belgian hare, which is a rabbit. The real differences are in the body, the lifestyle, and above all the newborn young.
| Rabbit | Hare | |
|---|---|---|
| Genus | About 10 genera (Oryctolagus, Sylvilagus, and more) | One genus, Lepus |
| Size | Smaller and stockier | Larger and leaner, longer ears and legs |
| Shelter | Digs or uses burrows | No burrow; a surface scrape called a form |
| Social life | Often lives in colonies | Mostly solitary |
| Newborn young | Naked, blind, helpless in a nest | Furred, open-eyed, running within an hour |
| Escape | Bolts to a burrow | Outright speed, up to ~70 km/h |
| Domesticated | Yes; all pet breeds are European rabbits | No |
| Confusing names | The Belgian hare is a rabbit breed | Jackrabbits are hares |
Rabbit vs Hare: common questions
What is the main difference between a rabbit and a hare?
The clearest and most reliable difference is how the young are born. Hares give birth above ground with no protective nest, so their young, called leverets, are born fully developed, covered in fur, with their eyes open, and able to hop and run within an hour. Rabbits give birth in a fur-lined burrow or nest chamber, so their young, called kits, are born naked, blind, and unable to move, and they depend on the nest for two to three weeks. Alongside this, hares are larger with longer ears and legs and live alone in the open, while rabbits are smaller, dig or use burrows, and are usually social.
Are jackrabbits rabbits or hares?
Jackrabbits are hares, despite the name. They belong to the genus Lepus, they are born furred and running, they do not dig burrows, and they rely on speed and their enormous ears across the open country of western North America. The name jackrabbit is a shortening of jackass rabbit, coined by early settlers for the animal's long, donkey-like ears. It is one of several misleading names in this group: the snowshoe hare is a true hare, but the so-called Belgian hare is actually a breed of domestic European rabbit selectively bred to look hare-like.
Can rabbits and hares breed together?
No. Although they are closely related and live side by side in many places, rabbits and hares cannot produce offspring. They have different numbers of chromosomes, the European rabbit having 44 and the brown hare 48, and they have been evolving separately for millions of years, with very different reproductive biology. Reports of rabbit-hare hybrids, sometimes called a leporide or a jackalope, are hoaxes or misidentifications. Within the hares, a few closely related species such as the mountain hare and the brown hare can hybridise where their ranges meet, but a rabbit and a hare cannot.