3195) Red Book of Lithuania - Mountain Hare: Lietuvos paštas (Lithuanian Post) has issued a postage stamp of 1.85 Euro featuring the endangered Mountain Hare: Date/Year of Stamp issue: 09.02.2024:
In October, their fur becomes white, and in mid-March it changes to summer gray colour. In winter, they are completely white, only with black ear tips.
In the northern regions, the Mountain Hare lives in tundras, forest tundras and taigas, while in Lithuania it is found in coniferous and mixed forests.
They can usually be seen in the areas of high marshes, forest edges, and young forests.
The mountain hare evolved during the Late Pleistocene - there is evidence that its range expanded during glaciations into southern Europe, with populations of Iberian hare (Lepus granatensis), European hare (L. europaeus) and broom hare (L. castroviejoi) in northern Iberia harboring mitochondrial haplotypes from the mountain hare.
During the Late Pleistocene to Early Holocene, populations of mountain hare in Russia grew at least 10% larger than any living population today. This population has been classified as a distinct species Lepus tanaiticus, but is now generally considered a prehistoric morphotype of the living mountain hare.
In the Alps, the mountain hare lives at elevations from 700 to 3,800 m (2,300 to 12,500 ft), depending on geographic region and season.
The mountain hare is a large species, though it is slightly smaller than the European Hare. It grows to a length of 45–65 cm (18–26 in), with a tail of 4–8 cm (1+1⁄2–3 in), and a mass of 2–5.3 kg (4+1⁄2–11+3⁄4 lb), females being slightly heavier than males.
They can live for up to 12 years. In summer, for all populations of mountain hares, the coat is various shades of brown. In preparation for winter most populations moult into a white (or largely white) pelage. The tail remains completely white all year round, distinguishing the mountain hare from the European hare (Lepus europaeus), which has a black upper side to the tail.
In the Faroe Islands, mountain hares turn grey in the winter instead of white. The winter grey colour may be caused by downregulation of the agouti hair cycle isoform in the autumn moult.
In the European Alps, the mountain hare lives at elevations from 700 to 3,800 metres (2,300 to 12,500 ft), depending on biographic region and season.
The development of alpine winter tourism has increased rapidly since the last few decades of the 20th century, resulting in expansion of ski resorts, growing visitor numbers, and a huge increase in all forms of snow sport activities.
In August 2016, the Scottish animal welfare charity OneKind launched a campaign on behalf of the mountain hare, as a way of raising awareness of mountain hare culls taking place across the country and in garnering public support for the issue.
Mountain hares are routinely shot in the Scottish Highlands both as part of paid hunting "tours" and by gamekeepers managing red grouse populations (who believe that mountain hares can be vectors of diseases that affect the birds). Much of this activity is secretive, but investigations have revealed that tens of thousands of hares are being culled every year.
The campaign, which urges people to proclaim, "We Care For The Mountain Hare", will culminate with the charity urging the Scottish government to legislate against commercial hunting and culling of the iconic Scottish species.
The campaign has revealed widespread public support for a ban on hare hunting in Scotland. On May 17, 2020, MSPs voted to ban the unlicensed culling of mountain hares and grant them protected species status within Scotland.
In 2021, the People's Trust for Endangered Species funded a survey of mountain hare populations in the UK's Peak District after concerns about the viability of the isolated population, believed to be as low as 2,500.
The Stamps:
The First Day Cover (FDC) shows a Mountain Hare in its winter habitat. The postage stamp issue is affixed at top right. The special cancellation postmark bears an image of a Mountail Hare facing left.
The cancellation is of Vilnius Post Office and the date of cancellation is "09.02.2024".
A Maxi Card
Technical details:
Issue Date: 09.02.2024
Designer: G. Gabniene
Printer: Baltijas Banknote, SIA, Latvia
Process: Offset
Size: 30.00 mm x 37.50 mm
Values: €1.85
Rajan Trikha has commented:
ReplyDelete"Excellent description."
Thank you, Trikha sahab.
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