Fully furred and with eyes soon opened, the leverets are born in litters of usually four. Female hares breed again soon after a birth and may produce as many as four litters a year. The newborn hares, huddling in a heap, their only defense against clouds of mosquitoes, will leave their simple grass-lined nest about a week after birth. By this time they will have doubled their weight and will be eating greens. In another week or two, they will be weaned.
Hares belie their meek, silent appearance.
They can drum with their huge hind feet, making a sound much like the springtime wing-drumming of ruffed grouse. A hare will agressively defend his home range, which may encompass 10 acres, against other invading hares. They can growl and will kick with their powerful hind feet. Their pathways are delimited mainly by scent. During daylight hours, they spend considerable time under sheltering bushes or stumps.