Forest hare sightings hit 30-year low in parts of Finland

Forest hare sightings have fallen to their lowest level in more than 30 years in some parts of Finland, with counts down 65 per cent in North Savo and North Karelia, Yle reports. The Natural Resources Institute Finland has no clear explanation for the decline.

The drop is also reflected in this autumn’s hunting catches. Kuopio hunter Antti Savolainen says he has driven more than 3,000 kilometres following hares with his dog, but has not found any.

Andreas Lindén, a special researcher at the institute, said sightings had fallen to nearly half of last year’s level in many places. The sharpest declines have been recorded in Uusimaa, Ostrobothnia, the Oulu region, North Savo and North Karelia.

The figures come from volunteer snow-track surveys conducted since 1989. Surveyors count animal tracks crossing a 12-kilometre wildlife triangle, and the institute uses the results to calculate an index of track density that offers an indication of how abundant a species is in the surveyed area.

Cause of decline remains unclear

Predators and disease are among the possible causes of the fall in hare sightings. However, Marja Isomursu, a special researcher at the Finnish Food Authority, said there was no indication that a disease was spreading among hares.

Savolainen suspects lynx may have taken more hares than usual. Lindén said snow-poor winters could also raise the risk for forest hares, whose white winter coats make them more visible when there is no snow. But he said a single low-snow winter would not explain the declines in hares, foxes, squirrels and brown hares.

Snow-track indices for foxes, squirrels and brown hares have also fallen considerably compared with last year. Lindén said he had no clear explanation for the broader decline and was waiting to see whether the figures recover in next year’s surveys.