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Living World

Factual: Science & Nature: Nature & Environment

The Living World

Getting up close and personal with wild nature in Britain and beyond.

Intimate encounters and extraordinary observations of wild nature in Britain and beyond.

Living World: The Brown Hare

The Brown Hare

BBC Radio 4 - Living World, The Brown Hare

Lindsey Chapman updates this Living World, from 2011, on brown hares in Hertfordshire.

Lindsey Chapman updates this Living World at a farm in Hertfordshire where Lionel Kelleway gets close encounters with hares & meets Gill Turner who knows many of them individually.

We all know about the myth of the Mad March Hare, but what is the background to it? Is there any biological reason for the name? Lionel Kelleway meets Gill Turner, who has observed the behaviour of brown hares since the late 1990's to explore this question. Together, they marvel at the antics of the brown hare - one of the first signs of spring - on a very special farm in Hertfordshire. 

In the years since the programme was first broadcast, the situation of brown hares has changed considerably. Wildlife presenter Lindsey Chapman revisits this Living World from 2011 before bringing the story gently up to date for today's listener.

Producer Andrew Dawes

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