Hares in the Curragh

pat_cork

Good evening,
I passed through the Curragh this evening and I asked my travelling companions would they ever see hares there. Their reply was absolutely not, completely wrong environment for them. I thought that that would be a perfect place for them due to the big open spaces. Could anyone tell me who's right?
Also I'm not sure if this is the correct forum would a mod please move it if it's incorrect?

Many thanks

dodderangler

Afraid your mate is wrong.Plenty of them up there and plenty of rabbits aswell.

LIFFY FISHING

dodderangler wrote: »

Afraid your mate is wrong.Plenty of them up there and plenty of rabbits aswell.

And all highly protected with Dept of Defence rangers and Military patrolls.

mr.wiggle

They must prefer locations with hi-security ! Where I work we have a 'pack' of them all year around as the factory is surrounded by lawn and trees. The security guards are constantly chasing off 'travellers' who are being offered 75euro a hare !

yubabill1

hares like very quiet areas with open spaces.

They used to be extremely numerous on the Curragh up to 20 years ago, but with the rise in activity levels (walkers with dogs, quads, etc) they have moved to quieter parts of the Curragh.

mr.wiggle

They are very nearly tame here. You can walk to within 10 or 12 feet of them before they move off.
As we all follow the paths they know that they're safe on the grass.
Sometimes I wonder who's lookin at who !

Bonedigger

mr.wiggle wrote: »

They are very nearly tame here. You can walk to within 10 or 12 feet of them before they move off.
As we all follow the paths they know that they're safe on the grass.
Sometimes I wonder who's lookin at who !

I wonder if you're getting your rabbits mixed up with your hares?Maybe not,but
most hares I've come across there have bolted long before I get close to them.
They're notoriously shifty and nervous creatures in my experience!The rabbits on
the other hand are more used to people about and are less flighty.

NSAman

yubabill1 wrote: »

hares like very quiet areas with open spaces.

They used to be extremely numerous on the Curragh up to 20 years ago, but with the rise in activity levels (walkers with dogs, quads, etc) they have moved to quieter parts of the Curragh.

Yes those pesky walkers with their dogs. The Curragh used to be a lovely place to go in the evening times. Even saw a few of those local rare barearsed bunnies making out like bandits on the grass from time to time...ahem..;)

whyulittle

Bonedigger wrote: »

I wonder if you're getting your rabbits mixed up with your hares?Maybe not,but
most hares I've come across there have bolted long before I get close to them.
They're notoriously shifty and nervous creatures in my experience!The rabbits on
the other hand are more used to people about and are less flighty.

If you sit still, Hares will come pretty close. Like mr.wiggle says, they will sit and look back at you.

Bonedigger

whyulittle wrote: »

If you sit still, Hares will come pretty close. Like mr.wiggle says, they will sit and look back at you.

Just my experience whyulittle,but I'll certainly try what you've suggested.

NSAman wrote: »

Yes those pesky walkers with their dogs.The Curragh used to be a lovely place to go in the evening times. Even saw a few of those local rare barearsed bunnies making out like bandits on the grass from time to time...ahem..;)

I think the Curragh still is a lovely place to go at any time.Okay,you get undesirables there,
but I've learnt to ignore them.I can't understand why certain areas of the Curragh cannot be designated as SAC's.

Alun

whyulittle wrote: »

If you sit still, Hares will come pretty close. Like mr.wiggle says, they will sit and look back at you.

Yes, I came across one one misty cold winters day down below the South Prison on Lugnaquilla, crouched underneath a peat hag. I had decided to stop for lunch anyway, and sat under the peat hag opposite for the best part of 20 mins ... me watching him, and him watching me. Only when I started gathering my things to move off did he move off.

meathstevie

Hares in areas where they don't experience being chased are indeed nearly half tame. The green area between terminal 1 and 2 at Dublin airport for example has a few regulars than can be easily approached to less than 10 feet as they're munching away on young plant growth.