The Leaping Hare

The Leaping Hare examines the wild hare through natural history, rural experience, folklore and mythology. George Ewart Evans and David Thomson distinguish between the mountain hare, Irish hare and common hare, while also discussing hunting, older methods of taking hares and the animal’s place as food. Accounts from countrymen, including gamekeepers and poachers, add practical knowledge of hare behaviour and countryside traditions.

The later chapters trace the hare’s appearances in mythology and belief, including associations with the moon, fire, fertility and witchcraft. The authors also consider the hare as a trickster figure in American Indian and African traditions, before turning to its many names and the customs attached to them.