Study of the new farming technique to improve the results of the repopulation of hare (Lepus europaeus) in campania region Italy. part 2. time of escape

Materials and methods. 110 hares (55 males and 55 females) with an age between 140 to 800 days, have been used for our study between year 2002 and 2006. Ten of the hares were observed with the help of video-surveillance and the rest were observed directly by an operator. Pairs of animals were placed in experimental cage (200cm of length x 100 of width x 120 of height) closed in a fenced area of minimum 100 square meters provided with spontaneous or sown vegetation. After a period of adaptation in the cage the hares were given the opportunity of leaving the cage. A little door to the back wall of the cage was connected with a step ramp to allow escaping. Time of escape from the cage was recorded for each animal. Data were analyzed with Variance Analysis (SAS System, 2000) and results are tested for gender (male vs female) and age (old vs adult vs young). Results. The average time of escape resulted 14.23±11.24 days. Gender differences are statistically marked and the escaping time is longer for the females (15±7 vs 12±7; P≤0.001). In all the categories of age females need more time before leaving the cage: old (13 vs 20; P≤0.01); adult (13 vs 16; P≤0.01); young (11 vs 13; N.S.). For young animals it takes an average time of 12 days to leave the cage towards the fenced area compared with old animals that stayed hidden in the cage for 16.50 days before living it. Adult hares show average values (14.50 days) between the values for old and young animals. All the escaping times recorded among the categories of age appear statistically different (16.50 vs 14.50 vs 12.00; P