h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The following is a brief entry about one of my favourite Peak District mammals. I'd like to share my enthusiasm for the creatures with other researchers so think my little article deserves a place in the Guide.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A431984

All comments welcome
MC

Not much to say except that this is a nice little article

I like this article. There are three points I would like to make:

First, I think it might be better to change the title to "Mountain Hares in Derbyshire" or "Mountain Hares in the Peak District". A lot of the charm of the entry at the moment is that it's short and sweet. I'm sure you don't want to get bogged down in a general description of races of Blue Hares all over Europe and Asia, so putting the district in the title would make it clear that it's your own area you're dealing with. (And would also bring it higher up the list if people search for "Peak District".)

Secondly, I think you could be a bit more specific about the "other hare", perhaps to call it the ordinary Brown Hare or European Hare. If you make it clear that there are two different species of hare native to Britain, this would be helpful for non-UK researchers.

A third suggestion I'd be more iffy about is giving the official species names in footnotes (- are they still Lepidus timidus and Lepidus capensis? ) You may feel that makes it too technical sounding, and prefer not to.

Anyway, I think that those changes would improve the entry, but still keep the present flavour, which makes it interesting to read.
Azara

This IS a nice little article. I had wondered if hares were native to Britain. I read somewhere that rabbits were introduced by the Romans and hares do seem sort of similar (in looks at least).

I'd be interested to know more about them. Do they nest in burrows or above ground, are they sociable or solitary, what do they eat, when do they breed, how many young do they have, are they considered pests or beneficial - that sort of thing.

Thanks for the comments all.

Azara, I've changed the title and GuideML'd it so I could add a footnote about Brown hares at the point you indicated. You've got the Latin names right but I initially decided not to use them to keep the tone informal. I'm open to persuasion but I'd prefer to keep technical sounding names out of this one.

Shorn, in answer to your questions, hares have certainly been native to Britain for many centuries. Large numbers of bones in cave deposits indicate a long history but I'll have to go and check when they arrived. They live in nests called 'forms', usually in heather or short tunnels in the moorland grass. Sharing our moors with the grouse really does work to their advantage because gamekeepers control the foxes and stoats that are predators to both grouse and hare, also the regular heather burns mean lots of fresh young shoots for the hares to nibble on. I'm not sure how many leverets they have but I've a feeling they go in for small litters.
I did find it difficult to decide how much detail to put in the article - it was first written in September and I've dithered over it ever since. I wanted to keep it 'short and sweet' but I'll go and give some thought as to how to add more information without losing the character of the article.

Thanks Metal Chicken. I sympathise with your dilemma. It's nice as it is: short and sweet. But I can't help being a nosy parker and wanting to know more. Sorry to be a pest but, do they actually lose their marbles and go mad in March?

Looking at the new version, Metal Chicken, I think you're quite right. The article is an interesting read as it stands so there's no need to add things like species names.
Good luck!
Azara

Thanks again guys.
Shorn, the 'mad March hare' thing is probably just because they start getting frisky then - "in the Spring a young hare's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love" to misquote somebody or other. The boxing activity that hares are so famous for used to be assumed to be two males fighting over a female. More recently it's been discovered that it's more likely to a female sparring with a potential male partner. If you're interested, I've found a BBC link about brown hares which the moderators should allow to stay here (although I dispute the Latin name the Beeb used as all my other sources stick with lepus capensis) http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/spring/brown-hare.shtml

Thinking about my article again, I think I can get away with adding a bit more about why the Mountain hare's re-introduction to the Peak District has been so successful where others have failed. It was tried in the Lake District and somewhere in Wales as well I think but failed miserably.

Till later
MC

Best be extremely quick then

because the sub-eds are on their way

because...

...we think this entry is great, and will be going into the Editorial Process for future inclusion in the Edited Guide. When it does get into the Edited Guide, we will email to let you know, but please bear in mind it can take a while for entries to go through the sub-editing system.

Congrats

Congratulations, Metal Chicken!
Have a glass of
Azara

Woohoo !!
Cheers people. What a nice way to start a weekend

OK everyone, I've added a bit about the uses of grouse moors from the hare's point of view and made a couple of other minor changes. I think it's finished now - unless, of course, you know different...

Those changes are very smoothly done! The bit about managing the moors certainly helps to explain why they are successful there. Well done!

Azara

Editorial Note: This thread has been moved out of the Peer Review forum because this entry has now been recommended for the Edited Guide.

If they have not been along already, the Scout who recommended your entry will post here soon, to let you know what happens next. Meanwhile you can find out what will happen to your entry here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/SubEditors-Process

Congratulations!