Why does a hare have long ears? Why does the hare have long ears (Mansi). It's true that hares play leapfrog

Why do hare and rabbit have long ears? Why do rabbit and hare need such long ears. This article describes in detail why and why rabbits and hares have long ears.

It is clear that, first of all, ears are needed to hear. The outer part of the ear acts as a speaker, not only capturing, but also amplifying external sounds. And the larger the auricle, the sharper the hearing of its owner. It’s not for nothing that, trying to better hear a quiet voice, we put our palm to our ear, thus increasing the surface area of ​​the auricle. To continue the experiment, you can lightly “crumple” your ear with your fingers and make sure that your hearing is clearly deteriorating.

For a hare, quick recognition of danger and escape are one of the main methods of survival. That's why his ears are so big. The record holder for the length of ears is the American hare or “leather rabbit” - the ears of an adult animal are larger than itself.

In addition to simply capturing sound waves, the outer ear is also responsible for cutting out unnecessary noise that interferes with recognizing vital information. Working as a resonator, the ear amplifies only those sounds whose frequencies coincide with its own.

The presence of two ears located on both sides of the head provides the so-called binary effect - the ability to determine the direction of the sound source. The mobility of the ears helps to determine the location of an object even more precisely: turning towards the front of the sound wave, the ear seems to indicate the direction from which danger may come.

The main way to avoid this danger is to escape. And here, in addition to fast legs and special techniques that confuse the pursuer, the hare’s ears help. It is the long (not round!) ears that are pressed tightly against the body, providing better aerodynamics.

But even this is not the end of the function of long ears: large ears save a running hare from overheating, actively radiating heat without losing valuable moisture. This quality gives the hare a significant advantage over predators: it is because of overheating that they quickly get tired and stop chasing.

The conclusion is simple: long ears for a hare are a vital necessity, a real gift of evolution.

work. Let's remember physics: A =F s Or else: work = force x re placement Job is a process accompanied by the transfer of mechanical energy (both the energy of the body itself and the energy of external bodies) into thermal energy or vice versa, thermal energy into mechanical energy.

And then the elephant has to work for the benefit of man: dragging logs, carrying people and other loads. And it won’t take long to overheat in the heat! Let's remember biology and geography, and also the fact that elephants are found in Africa, and even in southeast Asia. At body temperatures above 42 0 C, the protein in the cells folds and the living organism dies. So nature came up with a way to save elephants! She rewarded them with huge ears and a trunk.

The ears of an elephant (and not only those of a hare and many other animals) have a large number of blood vessels that are covered only by skin. The blood carries the heat generated during work and the breakdown of food, and the ears (as a kind of "radiators" ) contribute to its cooling. And what does the trunk have to do with it?

When an elephant is especially hot, it douses itself with water or, in its absence, smears saliva over its body with its trunk. The liquid begins to evaporate, which leads to a decrease in body temperature, and the elephant feels cool.

Let's remember physics. Evaporation of liquid is accompanied by a decrease in temperature: the fastest molecules, with greater kinetic energy, are the first to escape from the liquid. Well, what remains are the slowest ones. And the internal energy, and the temperature associated with it, depend on the kinetic energy of the movement of molecules.

So the hare needs big ears not only to hear better. Although we know that because of the dangers, the hare always needs to keep his eyes open! Both the fox and the wolf are always nearby. And they are not averse to eating hare meat.

The little bunny is hiding under a bush, unable to catch his breath. Come on, try jumping rope for half an hour! Hot? That's it! The hare sits and “sweats his ears.” And the sweat is also heated by the heat from the blood. And the more it is heated, the faster it evaporates. And the faster the sweat evaporates, the cooler the hare is!

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A collection of fairy tales for children and their parents. I wanted the children to understand, after reading these fairy tales, what kindness, mutual assistance, belief in the impossible, care for one’s belongings and all that was brought up in Soviet times are.

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The given introductory fragment of the book Bedtime stories. Collection of good fairy tales (Oleg Akatiev) provided by our book partner - the company liters.

© Oleg Akatiev, 2016

© Alexander Voznenko, illustrations, 2016

Created in the intellectual publishing system Ridero

Why do rabbits have long ears?

Many, many years ago, when the trees were large and tall, and because of this there was always twilight in the forest, because light could not break through the dense thickets of trees. When all the animals on Earth lived in harmony, there lived a hare. In those distant times he was not the same as he is now. Previously, he had small ears and small hind legs. And before he didn’t run as fast as he does now, because he had no enemies, and therefore there was no one to run away from. But he was just as much of a braggart as he is now.

With or without reason, he always boasted to every little animal:

- I can do everything! I can do everything! I am the fastest and most agile!

But all the animals got used to his boasting and looked at him the same way people now look at an alarm clock, that is, it rang, they remembered it, turned it off and forgot about it.

In the forest where the hare lived there was a large and swampy swamp. Everyone avoided it, because no one had ever managed to walk along it. And those who tried to do this were taken by the swamp, under the muddy, dark water. After which a terrible groan was heard throughout the forest:

This swamp was happy that it had swallowed its next victim. Hearing this groan, all the animals froze in place with fear and remained in this state until the groan stopped.

One fine day the hare decided to boast that he would cross this swamp. All the animals, of course, knew him as a braggart, but to decide on such a thing! So when the hare said:

- Tomorrow, you can all get together and watch me cross this trifling swamp!

All the animals wondered if he could really get through this terrible swamp?

The next day, all the animals, with the exception of the bear and the wolf, the strongest in the forest, gathered near the swamp and began to wait for the hare. After some time, the scythe himself appeared. The hare saw that so many animals had gathered, and this suddenly became very frightened, but it was too late to retreat. It’s one thing to show off in front of one hedgehog or two squirrels, and quite another when almost all the forest inhabitants have gathered to watch you cross this terrible swamp. And although the hare was a coward, he decided that he would prove to everyone how brave he was.

And then the hare took the first step through the swamp, all the animals froze. Then he took a second step... Despite the fact that all the animals were nearby, from the silence that was around, one could think that there was no one here, so everyone held their breath. Having taken the third step, the hare felt that he was falling through. Because of his strong excitement, he had not yet had time to understand what was happening to him, but just in case, when he had already fallen knee-deep into the swamp, he shouted as hard as he could:

– Help!... I’m drowning!

And this cry of the hare brought all the animals back from their stupor. All the animals ran around. Squirrels jumped up and down the trees, birds flew in and flapped their wings. But no one could reach the hare to grab him and pull him out of the swamp.

And the hare went into the quagmire already up to his waist. Then someone shouted shrilly:

- Bear! Wolf! Help, the hare is drowning in the swamp!

And the hare is already stuck up to his neck in the swamp. And then everyone heard it groan, pulling its next victim towards itself:

The hare had already gone completely into the swamp, only small ears remained. And suddenly, a wolf ran out of the bushes. Seeing what was happening here, the wolf immediately grabbed the small hare's ears with his teeth and began to pull with all his might. And now the hare already appears above the swamp - here is the head, here are the front paws, now he is already waist-deep in the water... But then, either the wolf weakened, or the swamp began to pull the hare towards itself even more tightly, only the hare slipped out and again began to plunge into swamp. The wolf, seeing the pitiful eyes of the hare, grabbed the poor fellow's ears with renewed vigor. This time the wolf did not let go of the hare’s ears from his teeth, and pulled him out of the swamp.

The poor hare was sitting on the grass, neither alive nor dead. All the animals were happy that the wolf had saved this beloved braggart! Only they all now looked at him for some reason as if he were a stranger. A stranger, because it was a different hare. He developed long ears and long hind legs. The hare, noticing the surprised looks of his friends, looked around himself. His gaze lingered on the hind legs, for some reason they stretched out... And after touching his ears, he realized that the same thing had happened to them. And then, instead of words of gratitude, the hare began to shout at the wolf:

“What have you done to me, you gray toothy creature!” Who asked you to pull me out by the ears, you incredible beast! So that your tongue becomes just as long and doesn’t fit into your mouth? You are the scarecrow, not the wolf!

After such words, the wolf’s eyes sparkled, burning with hatred. He bared his sharp teeth and headed straight for the hare. The hare, seeing that an extremely unpleasant situation could happen now, backed away. And when the wolf jumped on him, the hare made such a noise, chirping that as he ran, he thought: “How good it turns out to be when you have such long hind legs!”

So to this day, the wolf chases the hare and cannot catch up with him. Because with legs as long as a hare’s, it’s not so easy to catch him!

To hear better, you will answer, and you will be right. Of the sense organs, the hare has the most developed hearing, the sense of smell operates at a short distance, and the hare's vision is average, adapted as for twilight.

The hare is very careful, skillfully hides in its den, when moving it confuses its tracks, moving against the wind, and until the last moment it does not reveal its presence by movement. He just lies with his big ears pressed to his body.

There were cases when hunters came close to a hare and, mistaking it for a dead or wounded animal, checked with the barrel of a gun, like a stick, whether it was alive or not. And only after that, making a dizzying somersault in the air, the hare pressing his big ears, he fled for his life.

If the hare has to flee, he is saved not only by his fast legs, but also by his large ears: heat is transferred through them during fast running.

Naturally to protect yourself from predators! It often happens that a hare dives from above. Then he turns over on his back and, like a real boxer, fights her off with all four paws, and with such force that he can rip open his opponent with his claws.

By the way, all hunters know this and yet constantly suffer from the sharp claws of the wounded hare.

Is it true that hares play leapfrog?

Hares playing leapfrog - photo

It's not surprising, but it's true. The very name and rules of the game of “leapfrog” were learned by our ancestors from the hare, although at first it was just dizzying somersaults of hares fleeing from hunters, and only then did biology scientists studying the habits of the hare in the wild confirm that these jumps are used in mating games

White hare, where did he run?

Does everyone remember the answer? What exactly helps a hare run?

Of course - paws! By winter, the hare's paws become overgrown with dense fur, shaggy fur even grows between the toes, and the fur on the ears becomes denser and looks like velvet.

What do ears have to do with it? Yes, too, to run!

And the oblique has to run often and a lot. Either a twig will crack, or the snow will creak under someone’s paws, but the hare’s heart has already disappeared: must he run again?!

The gray one (and the white one in winter) has excellent hearing. This, of course, is due to his large, long ears. The hare has comfortable ears; put them upright, twisted them back and forth, set up your locators and receive all the forest news without delay! Again, it’s convenient to run: put your ears on your back, press them tightly and rush yourself in any dense undergrowth, you won’t damage your ears folded into a tube! But you need to stop, raise your sound detectors again and listen: how far is the chase? At the same time, you *cool down* from running.

Such ears are not just ears, but natural cooling radiators. Our bunny cannot sweat when running, he has almost no sweat glands, his body saves water and does not allow it to evaporate thoughtlessly. What should I do? If excess heat is not removed from the body, our scythe will cook in its own juice.

Mother Nature took pity on the little bunny and gave him ears with thick cords of veins that run right under the skin on the ears, and the vessels in them are visible and invisible, and the lumen of which is adjustable *in a wide range*. When the little one needs to “throw off” the heat, the vessels expand at full capacity, and when they are saved, they narrow. Our little bunny is not in danger of getting a headache from overheating, but his little head is not in danger of freezing either.

Such ears on the top of the head allow hares to live not only in harsh Russian forests, but also in arid deserts. Cooling due to heat exchange, you know, is a very beneficial gift from Mother Nature!

The hotter the climate, the more heat needs to be dissipated, so the most long-eared hares are the southern and desert hares. In the latter, the length of their ears is half the length of their body!

This was noticed back in 1877 by D. Allen and wrote a whole ecographic rule, calling it after himself. And it says approximately the following: among related forms of warm-blooded animals, those that live in colder climates have smaller protruding body parts (ears, legs, tail). And those who live in hot climates do the opposite.

Compare the photo of the average Russian hare and the *hermit*. Wow, what ears!!! And the glorious fennec fox is wow, how different her ears are from her usual little sister fox! This rule applies to all animals, and is 100% suitable for humans!

But we will not compare the ears of a hare and a rabbit. Although they belong to the same order of lagomorphs, rabbits are still not hares. These are two separate types. Hares and rabbits do not interbreed with each other and they do not have children!

For a long time, both hares and rabbits were considered rodents, but this turned out to be completely wrong. They are not rodents at all, they are lagomorphs!

And where can a rabbit catch up with our hare? Can it accelerate to 70 km? per hour, like our big-eared one? No, the rabbit is not a match for the hare, it is not a match!!!

And somehow our great-grandmothers and great-grandfathers managed without rabbits in the yard. How? Yes, they made do with hares! In the Arkhangelsk province, where frost below 40* is not uncommon, warm knitted things are very popular. There is also a white hare who lives there, who wears a gray coat in summer and a white coat in winter. One hare skin is not enough for good mittens, but I would also like a hat. There is a way out! The skin of a hare just needs to be... plucked. In itself, hare fur is very short-lived, but, thanks to the abundance of light fluff in winter, it is the warmest of all *downs*. There are almost no guard hairs on the winter skin, but there is plenty of fluff. Things made from hare down are surprisingly warm and comfortable.

Do you want to keep your ears from freezing? Go ahead, follow the hare! Play “Try and catch up!” with him.