Population trend and distribution of mountain (Lepus timidus) and brown hares (Lepus europaeus) in Central Alps (N-Italy, 1980–2020)

Mountainous regions are very vulnerable to climate changes, as they experience higher temperature increases than the surrounding environments. A general movement of species toward higher altitudes, in search of suitable sites, is being observed. In the case of the Italian Alps, an expansion of the brown hare (Lepus europaeus) is possible within the zones occupied by the mountain hare (Lepus timidus), which frequents higher altitudes. The risk is an increase in the hybridization and a contraction of the mountain hare’s range. In this study, we analyzed the hunting bags (weighted by the number of active hunters each year) of brown and mountain hares from the period of 1980–2020, in the province of Sondrio (Central Alps) in northern Lombardy (N-Italy), with the aim of (i) highlighting any population trends in relation to climate change, (ii) identifying altitudinal changes in the distribution of the two species over the years, (iii) identifying the environmental variables that influence the distribution of the two species, and (iv) creating suitability maps in the study area. To study population trends, the hunting bag data were corrected by dividing the number of hare shot by the number of active hunters in that year. For both species, no population trends were found between 1980 and 2020. Weather variables do not seem to have influenced population trends. No significant trends in the altitudinal distribution of the two species were observed over the period investigated. The results indicate that the two species select different altitudes, with the exception of the belt between 1600 and 1800 m a.s.l. Both species select meadows.