Brown hare snapped playing peekaboo while enjoying Spring sun

By Sophie Watson via SWNS

A cheeky brown hare appears to play a game of 'peekaboo' as it enjoys the Spring sunshine.

Wildlife photographer Frances Browne spent three hours in a cramped hide in a clump of trees to capture the seasonal shots.

The 65-year-old snapped the images of the hare as it explored farmland in Suffolk on Tuesday (4/4) evening.

Frances, who took up photography after retiring from her career as an environmental scientist, said: “This adult hare was very cute.

“It started to clean itself and put its feet up and all its whiskers went crooked.

“In one of the photos I think the hair looks quite goofy with its ears sticking straight up.

"The hare looks like he's playing a game of peekaboo with me while I snap away from my hide which was about 20ft away.

“I am very pleased with the photos as hares are very difficult to capture on film.

“When you manage to, it’s because the animal has trusted you to get so close without interfering with their behavior.

“Hares are very shy creatures and they also like to keep themselves clean.

“I take photos of hares all year round, but these shots are quite nice because it is the run-up to Easter and represents a perfect symbol of the celebration.”

There are just under 600,000 brown hares living in the UK and are most abundant in lowland areas like East Anglia and southwest England.

Frances added: “Hares are very difficult to capture on a camera as they are very shy which means you can’t get close to them as they would just run away.

“As a photographer, if you see a hare in the distance, you have to wait for them to come into your direction and wait for them to get close enough to capture.

“You have to wait for them to settle down and can’t move a muscle else they will run off and you will have missed your chance.

“From the photo, you can’t determine whether it is a male or female hare as they both look the same but it is definitely an adult brown hare.

“They were just enjoying the last bit of sun before it set on the beautiful Spring day.”