Hare Walking on Water

[George East]

I do not expect anyone to believe this, but that does not make it less true.

I live in the Loire Valley and was this morning taking my old collie for a walk around the big pond. One bank is completely and deliberately overgrown with bushes and bramble to give cover for any wildlife wanting to use the water. I had my back to this side of the bank, and suddenly heard the distinctive sound of a large bird taking off from water. It was that unmistakeable slap-slap, gathering speed and then ceasing suddenly that you hear when you put up a swan or bigger duck. I whipped round and saw the usual v-shape on the surface of the pond. Then I saw something that was definitely not a bird, speeding up the slope of the pond from the point of the V-shape and towards a copse of fir trees twenty yards away. At first I thought it might be a small fox as it was of that size and brown in colour. Then I saw the ears and legs and realised it was a hare. It was moving at the usual breakneck pace and disappeared in a couple of seconds, but I know what I saw. I have been lucky enough to encounter hares on half a dozen occasions, and know the difference between a rabbit and a hare- or any other sort of mammal. Anyway, the point is that the pond is about twenty metres across from overgrown bank to barren bank, and has steep ( forty degrees) sides at the moment as the level is low after a heatwave and arid summer. Even so, the water in the middle must be over a foot or more in depth.

So, can anyone offer any sensible or informed explanations for what I heard and saw? For sure I was sober and for sure it was a hare and for sure it crossed the pond- unless there were two separate animals involved and I saw the wake of a bird which disappeared into thin air, and the hare materialised at the same moment on the dry side of the pond. Hmmmm. Any ideas, seriously?

Thanks

[The Woodman]

Hi George and welcome to WAB.

I've never heard of or seen what you've witnessed but having seen the density of hairs between a hares toes and their barely discernable prints on soft substrates due to reduced pressure from that mat of hairs, can believe it could happen. Humans can barefoot "ski" on water if the velocity is sufficient.

I think your observation is worthy of inclusion in the general wildlife forum thread, "What have you seen that you think is new and unrecorded?"

[Jackaroo]

Hmmm, well, that's not so unusual. My wife's constantly moaning about the 'hares' floating in the bath.

But,seriously, could there have been a thin film of ice on the water at that point?

Regards and welcome to WAB,
Jackaroo.

[~T~]

Hares are excellent swimmers and very fast at it. A small dam I used to fish at as a teenager had a lot of hares living round it and once while going round past some bushes we disturbed a hare who leaped right into the water and swam the breadth of it (about 40-50m) in about half a minute or less.

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by Jackaroo

Hmmm, well, that's not so unusual. My wife's constantly moaning about the 'hares' floating in the bath.

But,seriously, could there have been a thin film of ice on the water at that point?

Regards and welcome to WAB,
Jackaroo.

I go with Jack as the weather has been so cold and the top water could have thawed and left a sheet of ice underneath..
If it was the hight of summer then it would be a different story..
This is what I believe happened..

[George East]

Duhhhhhh!

Sorry, that was me having a Bart Simpson moment, or rather a typical George East Moment.

Of course Jackaroo and others is/was/are right. I repeated the walk around the Big Pond this morning and the ice was evident. All I can say in my defence is when I walked around it yesterday in search of kindling I did not look at the surface until the hare had done a runner, cracked the thin membrane of ice and allowed the water to well up so I head that distinctive slap-slap of pad on water sound.

Anyway, thanks to all of you for spotting what should have been obvious to me, and it will make a great opening of a winter chapter in the new book. I will write it up this morning.

Aristotle said words to the effect that in all nature there is something marvellous, and Mr Hare proved it to me yesterday. Thanks so much,

G

[snake]

Hi George,
Over the years I have seen Hares crossing ditches and creeks many hundreds of times, including startled ones.
None of them have had the ability to walk across.
Short of divine intervention there will be another explanation for what you witnessed.
My guess is, you startled a Coot or Moorhen which ran across the water and either hid or dived at the bank. A Hare was on the bank and the action of the bird or your presence frightened it away.

[George East]

Thanks for that Snake, and obviously you posted before seeing my mea culpa. I did not want to go on and on in my initial post or I would have added that we have no coots, and our moorhens swim quite calmly to the bank and then scurry along it to a safe haven when I approach.

G

[Endrick]

It's an easy mistake to make. I took this picture of a mink on a tiny patch of ice in a backwater of a flowing river:

[Brocakat]

Well - we have all seen a Coot do it: - Possiblyt a Hare would be even faster:- it all depends on its Approach Speed ( to the waters edge ) & the speed therafter.
But-20 metres is a long way. I go for the submerged ice factor theory.