Social Structure
Savanna hares live mainly solitary lives, though they sometimes form groups of two or three when eating. They have home ranges of 12 to 24 acres (5 to 10 ha).
Communication
Savanna hares use their senses of hearing, smell, and sight to avoid predators. These hares have a special pad hidden under each nostril that heightens their sense of smell. Their extremely sensitive hearing allows them to use subtle alarm calls, such as grinding their teeth or drumming their hind feet against the ground, to warn of approaching danger.
Behavior
Active at night, hares scatter for cover when they are scared or startled. They cannot see directly in front of them, so when they run, they move in a zigzag pattern at speeds of up to 43 miles per hour (70 kph). To throw off their predators, they make sudden leaps to the side. This breaks up their scent trail, making it difficult for predators to follow. They will also hide in warthog dens or aardvark burrows.
Conservation
Savanna hares, like many hares in Africa, are listed as a species of lower risk by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Humans hunt them for food and for their fur, but this hunting does not appear to threaten their populations.