Interim balance of the “Aktioun Hues”: Adaptable species or simply no alternative?
This year, we ran our exciting “Aktioun Hues“, a citizen science project in which nature lovers tracked the brown hare. Thanks to the eager 99 observers, around 250 hares were reported on iNaturalist. The variety of locations was particularly surprising: hares were not only observed in traditional agricultural landscapes, but also extremely frequently in populated, built-up areas such as the airport. This uneven distribution raises questions: Is the brown hare highly adaptable or is it increasingly moving into unfamiliar areas because it lacks its natural habitat?
Caught in the act – Mostly sighted in spring
Most observations of brown hares were made in the summer months from April to September. This is probably less due to the occurrence of the species than to the fact that this is when most people are out in nature. In addition, the timing of the call for “Aktion Hues” in April was also strategically chosen: during the mating season in spring, the beautiful hares are easy to spot in the still low-growing fields. Although the animal’s mating behaviour is said not to decrease significantly over the course of the year, it is just that people can no longer observe the hare as well when the grass and crops grow higher. It is therefore not surprising that the number of reports has decreased over the months.
The positive effect of the participatory campaign is very clear: between 2018 and 2024, only around 115 reports were made by brown hares. Thanks to the “Aktioun Hues”, there were 250 in 2024 alone!
Please note that this does not refer to individuals, but only to the number of reports. Sometimes a report comprises several individuals.
Renaming: from field hare to urban hare?
iNaturalist-nathalie8080
Today, the brown hare seems to be more of a species of the farmland, as reports from the east of the country and the Ösling are relatively rare (see map). The hare seems to have largely disappeared, especially on the intensively utilised agricultural areas of the Ösling plateau. However, there are also surprisingly few records in the Reding Canton and north of the Upper-Sûre lake the reservoir. However, this may also be due to the fact that fewer people in these areas simply use iNaturalist or did not take part in the campaign.
In some fields, the same hares were probably sighted repeatedly over the summer months, for example near Ehnen or Ehleringen. Different observers repeatedly reported hares in the same field at intervals of several weeks – because brown hares can have territories of up to 50 hectares, it is possible that it was the same individual.
There seems to be a real neighbourhood hare in Bivingen: several reports from the same street show Master Lamp in front gardens, on the street but also in the surrounding meadows
iNaturalist benoit524
The sightings from the airport were definitely a curiosity, apparently a brown hare is resident here. As confirmed by word of mouth, one can often be seen at the roundabout (!).
The fact is that these urban reports were not isolated cases. The majority of hares were still observed in open fields and meadows, but some individuals seem to be more attracted to residential areas. This makes us wonder whether the hares find more suitable food or more shelter in gardens and green spaces?
Or are they just a few daring individuals who, due to their lack of shyness, have inspired stories such as the Easter Bunny, as they have always done? This should continue to be investigated. In folk tales and children’s songs, the hare appears as a clever, shrewd survivor. I wonder if the hare remembers its ancestors in the furrows of the fields when it roams the foundling grounds or garage entrances these days?
INaturalist-cheidt
“By-catch” of the campaign: the rare wild rabbit
In addition to the 250 reports of brown hares, six sightings of wild rabbits were made (there are only 15 reports in total from Luxembourg on iNaturalist). Contrary to expectations that this cute species would be reported more during the campaign – because it is often confused with the brown hare – this is a rather meagre yield. It is well known that wild rabbit populations in Luxembourg have declined in recent decades. There are now indications that the situation is more critical than previously assumed.
-
Rabbit protection includes many other animal species – including hedgehogs
As a symbol of biodiversity, the protection of the brown hare can also include other species and ecosystems. If the brown hare is protected in an area, numerous other animals and plants that share similar habitats, such as the hedgehog, also benefit.
Animals such as the hare or hedgehog are easy to observe, which helps people to become enthusiastic about nature conservation and they symbolise the challenges of rural nature conservation in a wonderful way.
De Kéisécker – Mouvement Ecologique mascot declared “potentially endangered” for the first time
Unfortunately, the endangerment of the hedgehog became official a fortnight ago: the prickly companion is now on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and is classified as “critically endangered”. According to estimates, the number of hedgehogs in some countries has fallen by a third, in some regions even by half.
The mascot of the Mouvement Ecologique was also the subject of a participatory campaign years ago. This is precisely because this species is also suffering from the loss of its habitat in the agricultural landscape and the severe fragmentation of Luxembourg by roads. In the past, hedgehogs usually found a refuge in gardens. But due to building development, sealing, mowing robots and standardised greenery or even gravel “gardens”, our settlements are also providing less and less habitat.
Think of this animal and save yourself some work in the garden for its sake: allow some “wilderness”, avoid poisons such as slug pellets and help it find winter quarters with a pile of leaves and branches.
How can you support the rabbit?
In order to protect the brown hare in the long term, targeted measures are needed that are supported by both citizens and politicians. Firstly, the creation and maintenance of wildlife corridors would enable brown hares to remain in their natural habitats and move around safely; the vital gene exchange between individual populations must be ensured in a highly fragmented Luxembourg. Agricultural areas could be supplemented with so-called flower strips or fallow strips – plant-rich edges that not only provide food but also year-round protection.
More environmentally friendly farming, in which pesticides are reduced or not used at all and soil cultivation is less intensive, would also be crucial. Citizens can help the hare by supporting such farming. Municipalities can help by letting their land be extensively farmed through leases and by supporting and promoting biodiversity measures on their land, for example. Finally, municipalities could create green spaces close to settlements where hares can find refuge without being forced into unsuitable urban areas.
Anyone can contribute and report observations, which provides important data for nature conservation.
Such measures would not only benefit the brown hare, but also other endangered species and biodiversity as a whole.
Sustainable management of the hare population in Luxembourg also means that hares should be hunted moderately, e.g. only in areas with a healthy population. In areas without hunting with low population densities or individual observations, populations should be protected by a moratorium lasting several years. However, this requires reliable population figures collected through scientific monitoring.
Conclusion: Scientific monitoring is absolutely necessary!
Citizen science is a valuable support, but it is not sufficient on its own for sound monitoring (scientific monitoring) of brown hare populations in Luxembourg. Countries such as Germany and Belgium carry out structured monitoring projects that provide more precise and long-term data on populations and threats. In Germany, for example, there is a brown hare monitoring programme that documents population trends on an annual basis. Similar monitoring programmes have also been carried out in Belgium. Such projects enable well-founded decisions to be made in the management and protection of the population, which are not possible with citizen science alone.
Especially when it comes to an animal species that is hunted, its populations should be scientifically recorded and tracked. This is the only way to understand the effects of landscape changes and conservation measures or even to adapt hunting regulations.
The newly established Service de la Faune et de la Chasse at the Nature and Forestry Agency, for example, could be tasked with carrying out or commissioning such monitoring.
What happens next?
Aktioun Hues” will continue for another year. So please continue to help and report hares and rabbits!
Maybe we can manage to fill the dark spots in the east and north of the country with reports from the Mümmler!
Follow the news at https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/aktioun-hues.
20.11.24