India GO
Mammal · Lepus nigricollis
Indian hare
खरगोश (khargosh)
IUCN LC · Least concernProtected under Indian law · IV
A medium brown hare of scrub, field edges and city green belts, with a black patch on the nape in the peninsular form.
How to recognise it
Sits frozen in the grass until you are close, then breaks away in a zigzag. Best looked for at dusk on open ground in a park or reserve.
Protection
Schedule IV, Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972
Where to see it
Auroville
Hares came back to this plateau as the planted forest closed in. Auroville now records more than 150 bird species, over 20 snake species and more than 200 butterflies across the township.
Pitchandikulam Forest (in season)
Pune
The hare in the moon, rather than a man in the moon, is the Indian reading of the lunar markings, and the story goes back to the Jataka tales.
Vetal Tekdi (in season) · Khadakwasla Dam (in season)