On the fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me...

...4 hare prints, 

 

Mountain hares (Lepus timidus) have several special adaptations which mean they are able to live in the cold, inclement conditions found high up in hills and mountains. In winter, their fur becomes thicker and turns white - to help camouflage them against snow. They also have shorter ears than brown hares to help minimise loss of body heat, and large feet to help them bound across the surface of snow. In the Peak District we have the only population of mountain hares in England, and we're collecting sightings of them through our Community Science hare survey to help learn how they may be impacted by changes in climate.

3 lizards,

 

 

 

2 mating toads,

 

and a bilberry bumblebee!

 

BBC Countryfile hare-piece

Community Science's Hare Survey was featured as part of a wider piece about the mountain hare population in the Peak District and South Pennines on last night's BBC Countryfile.

Countryfile presented Ellie Harrison and Community Science Project Manager Sarah Proctor meeting on Bleaklow

The piece covered some background information about the hares and their adaptation to cold and inhospitable conditions (which were certainly in evidence on the day of filming), before talking about how you can get involved in our survey; and how sending in your sightings of hares can help us to understand the implications of climate change for this charming upland mammal.

Ellie and Sarah talk mountain hares, climate change and citizen science!

 The episode was broadcast on 13/12/15; and will be available on iPlayer for 30 days. To catch-up, visit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06sphxz

To take part in the survey, visit: http://www.moorsforthefuture.org.uk/community-science/haresurvey