Lepus corsicanus

Lepus corsicanus

The Corsican hare or Apennine hare, Italian hare (Lepus corsicanus de Winton, 1898) is a mammal belonging to the Leporidae family.

Systematics –
Domain Eukaryota,
Kingdom Animalia,
Phylum Chordata,
Subphylum Vertebrata,
Class Mammalia,
Subclass Theria,
Infraclass Eutheria,
Superorder Euarchontoglires,
Order Lagomorpha,
Family Leporidae,
Genus Lepus,
Subgenus Eulagos,
Species L. corsicanus.

Geographic distribution and habitat –
The recent history of the distribution of the Corsican hare (Lepus corsicanus) is characterized by a sharp decline and marked fragmentation. Until the 1930s, the species was almost continuously distributed throughout much of central and southern Italy, from the area of ​​Elba southward, as well as in Sicily and Corsica. The situation changed dramatically with the introduction of the European hare to many areas of the peninsula for hunting purposes. The presence of the European hare (Lepus europaeus) contributed to the fragmentation of the Italian hare’s range, which today often survives in isolated populations.
The Italian hare is currently known in central and southern Italy, Sicily, and Corsica. In the peninsula, the northern limit of its Tyrrhenian range is located in the southern part of the province of Grosseto, while isolated records have also been collected in the Terni area and, more sporadically, in the Marche region. On the Adriatic coast, isolated populations are found in the Gargano Peninsula, southern Puglia, and the Abruzzo Apennines. Larger populations are found in Lazio, Campania, Basilicata, and Calabria. The species is also present in the Abruzzo-Molise region, although with generally smaller and more discontinuous populations.
Sicily represents a unique situation. The Italian hare is the only hare species present there and appears to be widely distributed throughout the island. Sicilian populations can be locally abundant and, compared to those on the mainland, display a much more continuous distribution. Even in Sicily, however, habitat degradation and heavy urbanization are progressively favoring range fragmentation.
The Corsican population has an even more peculiar history. Despite the specific epithet corsicanus, available knowledge indicates that the species’ presence on the island is due to a historical introduction, although the precise date cannot be established. The Corsican population was only recently rediscovered, and its situation was long poorly understood.
Overall, therefore, the distribution of the Italian hare today is very different from its historical status. In Sicily, populations can still form a nearly continuous system, while in peninsular Italy they are often reduced to isolated nuclei. Many of these populations are found within protected areas or in inaccessible, remote areas, where human pressure has historically been less severe and where repopulations with European hares have not been carried out, or have been carried out only to a very limited extent.
The species is also particularly difficult to monitor because it is elusive. Therefore, obtaining reliable estimates of population size requires intensive surveys. Actual densities are still poorly known, but those estimated in protected areas of mainland Italy are significantly lower than those observed in comparable Sicilian areas.
From an environmental perspective, the Italian hare demonstrates a remarkable capacity for adaptation. It can live from sea level to the high altitudes of the central-southern Apennines, where it reaches about 2,000 meters above sea level, and in Sicily it reaches up to about 2,400 meters, especially on Mount Etna. ISPRA technical sources also confirm this wide altitudinal range and emphasize the species’ strong association with Mediterranean climates.
Rather than a single type of habitat, the Italian hare appears to prefer a diverse landscape, combining open areas for feeding with denser areas for shelter. Areas characterized by alternating clearings, shrublands, and broadleaf forests are particularly favorable. This mosaic structure can be found in both natural and agricultural environments.
Natural environments frequented by the species include broadleaf forests with clearings, scrubland, uncultivated land, Mediterranean scrub, even when very dense, garrigue, and even coastal dunes. In Sicily, hilly and mountain pastures, clearings and edges of broadleaf forests, and uncultivated areas rich in shrubs are particularly important.
The species also uses agricultural environments, especially when they maintain a certain structural variety. It frequents cereal crops, vineyards, olive groves, vegetable gardens, and citrus groves; the reference text also notes its presence in almond groves. In particular, large expanses of wheat cultivation may represent a frequently used habitat.
Not all forms of agriculture, however, are equally favorable. Intensive agricultural systems tend to reduce the presence of the Italian hare because mechanization, crop intensification, and the spread of monocultures eliminate many transitional environments, such as margins, bushes, and small uncultivated areas. This simultaneously reduces the places available for feeding, shelter, and raising offspring.
The use of pesticides can also have negative consequences. The effects can be direct, through the ingestion of toxic substances, or indirect, through the reduction in the quantity and variety of plants that constitute the hare’s food resources.
Another important factor is roads. A dense road network can increase mortality due to collisions, but it can also contribute to the isolation of populations and habitat fragmentation. For a species already characterized by small and separate populations, this represents a particularly serious problem.
One of the most interesting ecological characteristics of the species is its preference for heterogeneous environments. A landscape composed of a mosaic of crops, clearings, pastures, shrublands, and woodlands can simultaneously provide food and shelter, proving much more favorable than a uniformly cultivated or completely urbanized area. Climate also appears to play an important role: the species’ distribution appears to be associated primarily with Mediterranean conditions, and among the climatic variables, average minimum temperatures appear to be particularly significant.

Description –
At first glance, the Corsican hare closely resembles the European hare, so much so that the two species can easily be confused. Upon closer inspection, however, some distinguishing characteristics emerge. The Italian hare has an overall more slender build, with a proportionally longer head-body length, hind feet, and, above all, ears than the European hare.
These body proportions have been interpreted as possible adaptations to the warmer conditions of Mediterranean environments. The ears, in particular, play an important role in heat dispersion, and a larger relative surface area could aid thermoregulation. The European hare, on the other hand, is particularly suited to open environments characterized by more continental climates.
The Corsican hare measures about half a meter or slightly more in length and generally weighs between 3 and 3.5 kilograms. There is no obvious sexual dimorphism, so males and females are very similar in appearance.
Their coats are one of the most useful features for distinguishing the two species. In the Italian hare, the hues are generally warmer and tawny, especially on the thighs and rump. The distal part of the fur has yellowish hues rather than grayish. The thigh and rump normally appear ochre-reddish brown, while in the European hare they take on more grayish-brown hues.
The neck region also has a distinctive characteristic. In the Italian hare, the nape and dorsal part of the neck are generally anthracite-gray, while in the European hare they tend towards reddish-brown, with the exception of some young specimens.
Perhaps the most curious feature, however, is the presence of a large white area on the ventral region, which in the Italian hare also extends to the flanks. It is precisely this particular coat conformation that has given rise, in hunting parlance, to the name “half-moon hare.”
Despite these differences, recognition in the field can be difficult. The similarity to the European hare is indeed very high, and distinguishing them often requires careful observation of morphological characteristics and coloration. This difficulty is particularly important from a conservation perspective, because the two species can live in the same territories, and the presence of the introduced European hare is one of the main problems for peninsular populations of the Italian hare.

Biology –
Knowledge of the biology of the Corsican hare (Lepus corsicanus) is still relatively limited. This is primarily due to historical reasons: until recently, the species was considered a simple subspecies of the European hare, and as a result, many studies did not treat it separately. Only after its specific identity was recognized did research devoted exclusively to the Corsican hare increase.
The Corsican hare is predominantly solitary and rather sedentary. It is most active during twilight and at night, while during the day it generally remains hidden in its lair, typically located on the ground and well protected by vegetation.
When discovered or disturbed, it does not necessarily flee immediately. If possible, it tends to remain in the vegetation, making short trips alternating with periods of immobility. When it needs to move quickly, however, it demonstrates remarkable running ability and makes long leaps, fully extending its hind limbs.
Its diet is essentially plant-based. The available research, still relatively limited, has also used microscopic analysis of plant residues contained in its droppings to reconstruct its diet. These studies have highlighted a generalist feeding behavior: the Italian hare does not rely on a single plant species, but can exploit a wide variety of plants depending on their availability throughout the year.
Herbaceous plants are an important component of the diet in all seasons. During the colder months, high-energy fruits may also become more important. More detailed studies conducted in Basilicata have confirmed a very broad diet, including numerous plant species, with a strong presence of herbaceous plants and seasonal variations in diet composition.
Studies conducted in Lazio have also highlighted a high level of dietary diversity: the hare can utilize a large portion of the plant species present in the environment, while showing an overall preference for some categories, particularly grasses and herbaceous legumes. This generalist behavior is consistent with the wide variety of environments frequented by the species.
Reproduction is one of the least understood aspects of biology, but the available observations have provided very interesting information. Pregnant females and births have been observed in October, November, December, and January. This means that reproduction can also occur during autumn and winter and suggests the absence of a true seasonal reproductive diapause.
Reproductive phenology therefore appears to extend throughout the year. Births peak in spring, with two periods of minimum numbers observed, one in winter and one in summer. This prolonged reproductive activity has been interpreted as a possible additional characteristic consistent with the species’ adaptation to the Mediterranean climate.
Gestation lasts approximately 42 days. A female can give birth two to four times a year, and the number of young can vary from one to four per birth. The maximum number of fetuses observed in available studies was four.
The young are born in a den on the ground and, unlike the newborns of many other mammals, are born relatively developed: their eyes are open, they are covered in fur, and they can move independently a few hours after birth. The natural lifespan of the Italian hare, however, is not yet precisely known.
A particularly important aspect of the species’ biology concerns its relationship with the European hare. Hunting repopulations in peninsular Italy have brought Lepus europaeus into numerous territories occupied by the Italian hare. The presence of the introduced species can lead to competition for resources and, more importantly, represents a potential vehicle for disease transmission. Among those identified as particularly important is European Brown Hare Syndrome, or EBHS.
The relationship between the two species also has a genetic dimension. Hybridization has been reported, especially in Corsica, and the risk of genetic introgression is an issue to be monitored for the preservation of the genetic identity of the Italian hare. Available evidence, however, does not support the conclusion that recent hybridization is uniformly widespread across all Italian populations; rather, it is a phenomenon that must be monitored in areas of contact between the species.

Ecological role –
The Corsican hare, also known as the Italian or Apennine hare, is a mammal belonging to the order Lagomorpha and the Leporidae family. Its scientific name is Lepus corsicanus de Winton, 1898. It is a species closely related to central and southern Italy and Sicily, considered endemic to these areas; it is also present in Corsica, where its presence is generally attributed to a historical introduction. Genetic analyses have also highlighted three main genetic typologies: Sicilian, central Italian, and southern Italian.
For a long time, the Corsican hare was not recognized as an independent species. It was, in fact, considered a subspecies of the European hare, Lepus europaeus, under the name Lepus europaeus corsicanus. Only since the 1980s, thanks to a series of morphological and morphometric studies, and subsequently through mitochondrial DNA analysis, has it been possible to recognize its true distinction from the European hare. The two lineages are thought to have diverged approximately three million years ago.
The Corsican hare primarily serves as a primary consumer. That is, it is a herbivore that obtains energy directly from vegetation and, through feeding, transfers part of the energy contained in plants to higher levels of the food web.
Its highly diverse diet links it to numerous plant species. It does not limit itself to exploiting a single resource, but utilizes many of the plants available in the environment, modifying the composition of its diet based on the season and available resources. In this way, it participates in the natural processes of consuming plant biomass and contributes to the transfer of matter and energy within the ecosystem.
The hare also represents a potential food resource for predators. While further specific studies on the trophic interaction network of L. corsicanus are needed, its position as a medium-sized herbivore makes it a potentially important element for various carnivores and birds of prey in Mediterranean and Apennine environments.
Its ecological importance, however, is not limited to the relationship between prey and predators. The presence of the Italian hare is closely associated with the quality and structure of the landscape. An area where woods, clearings, shrublands, pastures, and diverse crops coexist offers the species both shelter and food. For this reason, the conservation of the Italian hare is closely linked to the conservation of mosaic landscapes.
In this sense, the hare can also be considered a useful indicator of the ecological quality of certain rural and Mediterranean environments. When agriculture becomes excessively intensive, monocultures replace the traditional mosaic, edges are eliminated, and uncultivated land and shrubland decrease, the habitat progressively loses its ability to simultaneously provide food resources and shelter.
Land transformation can therefore have far more profound effects than simply the loss of available land. A landscape fragmented by roads, urbanization, and intensive cultivation can prevent populations from communicating with each other, increasing isolation and making genetic exchange more difficult. Road density, in particular, has been associated with both collision mortality and reduced environmental suitability and population isolation.
From this perspective, the situation of the Corsican redshank is particularly delicate in peninsular Italy. Populations are often small, isolated, and characterized by low densities. The national assessment reported in the reference source classified the species as Least Concern (LC), primarily due to the relatively favorable situation in Sicily; however, the same assessment highlighted much less favorable conditions for genetic entities present in peninsular Italy, which were classified as Vulnerable (VU), considering their fragmented, numerically small, and declining populations.
This apparent contradiction between a relatively favorable overall assessment and a much more worrying local situation is important for understanding the conservation of the species. A numerically significant population in Sicily may, in species-wide assessments, compensate for the much more fragile situation in continental populations. However, this does not mean that peninsular populations are safe.
The main threats are habitat loss and degradation, intensive agriculture, urbanization, fragmentation caused by roads, hunting pressure, and especially repopulations with European hares in peninsular Italy. These can simultaneously create problems of competition, pathogen transmission, and potential genetic interaction.
For this reason, the protection of Lepus corsicanus requires an approach that goes beyond animal protection, but focuses primarily on the quality and continuity of habitats. The National Action Plan for the species, developed in 2001, identified the main threats and priority conservation actions. The interventions indicated include determining local distribution, protecting populations, experimental captive breeding for repopulation purposes, and maintaining an effective network of protected areas.
Ultimately, the Corsican hare (Lepus corsicanus) is much more than a simple “variant” of the European hare. It is an evolutionarily distinct species, closely linked to the natural history of the Italian Mediterranean and characterized by a remarkable ability to adapt to different environments, provided they retain sufficient structural diversity. Its presence also reflects the quality of the landscape: where woods, clearings, pastures, scrublands, and diversified crops survive, the hare can find both food and shelter; however, where the landscape is simplified by intensive agriculture, urbanization, and infrastructure, populations tend to fragment and isolate.
The conservation of the Italian hare therefore coincides, to a large extent, with the conservation of an entire system of Mediterranean and Apennine environments. Protecting this species means preserving not only an original component of the Italian fauna, but also those diverse landscapes in which numerous other species find space, food, and refuge.

Guido Bissanti

Sources
– Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
– GBIF, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
– Gordon Corbet, Denys Ovenden, 2012. Guide to the Mammals of Europe. Franco Muzzio Editore.
– John Woodward, Kim Dennis-Bryan, 2018. The Great Encyclopedia of Animals. Gribaudo Editore.

Photo source:
– https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?view=GALLERY&taxonKey=6PPZ3&entity=o_3456706217