Mountain hare exists in all of Sweden except Scania. It is nocturnal and its fur is white in winter and brown and grey in summer. The mountain hare is small and chubby and its tail is short and white and shaped like a little ball. It weighs up to 4,5 kilos. The common hare, whose fur is reddish brown all year round has a slightly bigger tail with which is black on top. The common hare is widespread in Scania and exists all the way up to southern Norrland. The common hare was imported into Sweden in the eighteen hundreds. You can also find various crossbreeds between the mountain hare and the common hare. It is not unusual for the hare to give birth to three litters a year with five young to every litter. The hare has been an important supplement to the diet of the self-subsistent households in Sweden for a great many years. Different minced-meat courses, hare stew and hare saddle are still popular today. The meat is dark, has a strong gamy flavour and is marinated with advantage.