Dublin hare-port: the oldest mammal in Ireland is in flying form

On the wing from Dublin Airport over the next few weeks, don’t be surprised to spot an Irish hare.

This is because Lepus timidus hibernicus, a subspecies of the Arctic mountain hare, present since the ice age and the oldest mammal on this island, has a density higher in the country’s largest international airport than anywhere else in Ireland. In fact, the numbers of hares at Dublin Airport are about 10 times higher than the average.

Hares have even been seen in Dublin car parks, which is all the more remarkable since hare populations are lowest in the east of the country.

Dublin Airport (and indeed Belfast International Airport) has up to 30 hares per square kilometre, while elsewhere in Ireland the population is up to 3.19 hares/km2.

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In 2019, the DAA in partnership with UCC initiated a hare study at Dublin Airport. (One of the big risks to planes at airports is mammal collision or “strike”). “The aim of this study is to improve our understanding of hare population and behaviour at the airport,” says a DAA spokesman. “In turn this will influence the development of a data-driven wildlife management plan.”

A well-developed capture-and-release system is in place for the management of hares on the airport campus under licence granted by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Once caught, the hares are transported to areas in Kildare and Wicklow for release by a consultant.

The hare study, led by Samantha Ball from the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences (BEES), found that more than 650 hares had been removed from the airport under licence and at least 191 had been killed by aircraft.

But because the hare population in the airport is so substantially higher than elsewhere, “the strike events are highly unlikely to have population-level impacts and are of little concern with regards to the conservation of the species”, according to the study.

Wildlife hazard management actions for mitigation of hare strikes at Dublin Airport include deployment of scaring techniques with a pistol, licensed trapping and translocation, and, subject to safety considerations, a licensed cull.

[ Study aims to limit damage by hares to aircraft landing at Dublin Airport ]

Given the conservation status of this subspecies, the DAA is actively exploring new, non-lethal technological solutions for hare population management and further monitoring measures. “In the last four years and to date in 2023, zero hares have been terminated,” says the spokesman. Nor have any hares had to be relocated this year so far.

Hares flourish at Dublin Airport thanks to its nearly 700 hectares of non-chemical-induced grassland, says ecologist Karina Dingerkus, who describes airports as “relatively safe havens” for the animal.

The policy of keeping long grass at airports, as well as the type of grass, is also significant, she says, referring to the blend of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) and Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiforum).

“Hares like a varied diet,” says Dr Dingerkus, “so monoculture and chemically driven grass doesn’t suit them.”

Hares, noted for grooming, are traditionally associated with women and with fertility and the moon. The animal is also deep in the Irish psyche and mythology

The high fencing also means predators such as foxes are kept out, and the long grass can hide nests of young hares from birds. As well, at Dublin Airport there is no “lurching” – illegal coursing in which dogs are used to hunt hares.

The airport is not the only haven for hares under a new project. “The hare corner”, an old farming practice first introduced in Co Clare by the Burren Beo landscape charity, is now being piloted in Co Mayo.

The idea is to leave a wild corner of a field or rough ground where rushes can grow, native trees can be planted and, in some cases, a pond can be placed. “This is for the general enhancement of biodiversity,” says project co-coordinator Pranjali Bhave.

Ironically and anecdotally, these small wild areas are actually attracting so many hares that trees have to be protected from the animal’s bark-stripping tendencies. The hares love to come and hide in the rushes and drink from the ponds, the project has found.

[ Counting hares under the spotlight ]

Hares, noted for grooming, are traditionally associated with women and with fertility and the moon. The animal is also deep in the Irish psyche and mythology. Celts and Druids rarely killed or ate hare. Oisín once wounded a hare that turned out to be a beautiful young woman. There are several visions of tales captured in Irish copy books in the 1930s folklore collection in which hares found milking cows early in the morning turned out to be old women.

National surveys, commissioned by the NPWS, have found the hare population to be relatively stable, though well down on those of the 19th century, judging by game bags from 14 big estates, when at times up to 200 in one afternoon would be taken.

Farming practices and drainage for extra livestock have led to a loss of rushes and wild patches, thus contributing to the decline of hares across Europe. Machine use during silage cutting is also believed to cause high rates of mortality to young hares.

And while Ireland’s hare is an endangered species and legally protected, they are also classed as a game or quarry species, which means they can be hunted under licence in season. They are also caught on a catch-and-release basis by coursing clubs supervised by the NPWS. A recent study suggests coursing may be no bad thing for the released hares. Road kill at night, when hares are most active, also affects hare populations.

The European brown hare, which will interbreed with the smaller-eared Irish hare, is found only in the North, with report sightings also in Donegal.