Arctic Hare vs European hare

Lepus arcticus compared with Lepus europaeus

Key Differences

• Arctic Hare is Least Concern while European hare is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Arctic Hare	European hare
Kingdom same	Animalia (животные)	Animalia (животные)
Phylum same	Chordata (хордовые)	Chordata (хордовые)
Class same	Mammalia (млекопитающие)	Mammalia (млекопитающие)
Order same	Lagomorpha (зайцеобразные)	Lagomorpha (зайцеобразные)
Family same	Leporidae (Rabbits & Hares)	Leporidae (Rabbits & Hares)
Genus same	Lepus	Lepus
Species	Lepus arcticus	Lepus europaeus

Evolutionary Relationship

Arctic Hare and European hare share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Lepus.

Conservation Status

Arctic Hare

LC — Least Concern

European hare

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Arctic Hare	European hare
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Arctic Hare

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Found in Norway.

European hare

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical coniferous forests, among 7 distinct biome types within the Neotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (10 countries), North America (4 countries), and South America (8 countries). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Arctic Hare

The Arctic Hare (Lepus arcticus) is a species in the genus Lepus. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

European hare

European hare (Lepus europaeus) is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List. Close to qualifying as threatened, with populations that may become vulnerable without conservation action.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway