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Hares are like big rabbits, but unlike rabbits they don’t live in big groups and they don’t dig underground. There are two different species (‘types’) of hare in Northern Ireland – the Irish hare, which has been here for over 16,000 years, and the European hare (which you can also find in England, Scotland, and Wales, amongst other places), which was brought over by humans around 100 years ago.

If you take an animal from one place and put it in a different place where a very similar animal already lives, they don’t often live happily side-by-side. There are 32 species of hare found around the world, but you generally only find one species in one place. Some hare species, like the European hare, are bigger and stronger than others and can win the fight for food, space, and mates.

The Irish hare is only found in Ireland and so is very important. In my PhD I am looking at whether the presence of the European hare will be bad for the Irish hare by winning these fights in Northern Ireland.

I’ve had to do a lot of different things so far, so my typical day has changed a lot depending on what I’m working on.

When I was counting hares at night, my typical day would mean driving out to the place where I work (my study area) just before it got dark. Once it got dark, I’d stand on the back of the truck and shine a very powerful torch into fields while my driver drove the car very slowly. I’d usually finish 8 hours later then drive home and get some rest. I made sure that I typed all my records from the previous night into my computer before starting again the following night; in science you must take great care not to lose your records!

I’ve also counted hares using camera-traps. These are cameras which you can leave in place and they will record passing animals automatically. When I was doing this work, I’d set out early in the morning to talk to the people who owned the land and then spend 6 to 12 hours putting my cameras in place. I’d go and get them a week later to see what was recorded. I’ve put some videos on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/nihares

At the moment I’m working on a project which means a lot of work on my laptop. I get into the office early and work on a few different things throughout the day. If I’m working with a program where I don’t have to write, then I listen to music in my headphones. I don’t do that when I’m writing though – I usually end up typing lyrics by mistake.