Granada Hare

The Granada hare is a hare of average adult weight 2–2.6 kilograms (4.4–5.7 lb) with distinctive reddish outer legs and a clear contrast between the gray-brown fur of its back and the white of its underside and inner legs. This white colouration travels to the tips of the toes. It is smaller than the broom hares (L. castroviejoi) and European hares (L. europaeus) that also occupy the Iberian peninsula, having a head and body length of 44.5 to 47.3 centimetres (17.5 to 18.6 in), hind foot length of 11.66 to 12.74 cm (4.59 to 5.02 in), and ear length of 9.25 to 10.27 cm (3.64 to 4.04 in). The species has some degree of sexual dimorphism, with females being heavier on average when compared to males.

Females will produce 2 young in each litter on average, though litters as large as 7 leverets have been recorded. It may be parasitized by Taenia pisiformis, a tapeworm, as well as coccidiosis-causing parasites in the genus Eimeria. These parasites have marked effects on the host hare's escape ability, with negative effects increasing with parasite quantity and variety. Many other parasites are known to affect the Granada hare, including those in genera Ixodes, Spilopsyllus, Mosgovoyia, Trichostrongylus, Graphidium, Nematodiroides, Passalurus, Micipsella, Hyalomma, Haemaphysalis, Rhipicephalus, Haemodipsus, Linguatula, and Dicrocoelium. It has never been found to contract European brown hare syndrome, though it is susceptible to some strains of rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus known since the 1990s. It may also develop bacterial infections, such as tularemia.

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