Mountain hare leverets are born in snow-season with fully open eyes and fur, yet remain vulnerable to predation and weather during their early weeks in upland habitats.
Mountain hare leverets are highly cryptic and should never be handled. Disturbance causes leveret scattering that prevents the nocturnal reunion with the nursing doe. Leverets exposed by vegetation cutting or disturbance are vulnerable to predation and hypothermia. Climate change is creating mismatches between leveret birth timing and late snowfall events that cause mortality in otherwise normal developmental stages.