I was out for a walk this afternoon on the moors above Holmfirth and I spotted this white Mountain Hare trying to hide in the heather. I edged closer until I was almost nose to nose with him. But he remained totally motionless, thinking I cannot have spotted him with his marvellous camouflage.
The Mountain Hares in the Peak District were introduced from Scotland during the Nineteenth Century. But in Scotland the snow cover is more prolonged and predictable so the white pelage keeps them camouflaged in winter. But snow is not nearly as frequent or persistent in the Peak District, but the Hares still turn white in winter, where they stand out like sore thumbs. One of their key predators in Scotland is Golden Eagle, which will maintain the colour change through Natural Selection (a hare that doesn't turn white in Scotland during winter will be more likely to be spotted by an eagle). But there are no eagles in the Peak District so this population lacks the main selective force for maintaining adaptive colouration.
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