The Roving Gambollers

Which is Which?

Rabbits and hares were once regarded as rodents. But today they are placed in a separate order of their own, largely because of differences in their teeth. They have a second pair of tiny teeth behind their front teeth, which rodents do not have.

Rabbits

When a rabbit is born, its skin does not have hair yet, and its eyes are temporarily closed.

Hares

A hare is born with fur and with its eyes open. Their hind feet and ears, in particular, are longer than those of rabbits.

Hares are larger than rabbits. Rabbits and hares might well be called the "flop-ears" and "pop-eyes" of the animal world. They are timid creatures, always hunted, so they need an early warning system to allow them to get out of the way quickly. Their huge ears twitch and turn to pick up the slightest sound from any direction. Their large, bulging eyes can watch all round, even behind their backs.

The young of hares are called leverets while baby rabbits are called bunnies.

Samphires

Beyond the sweep of the tide, where the plant life of the sea ends, the land's plant life begins, often at the foot of a tall cliff. There, among jumbled rocks, constantly washed by spray, grows samphire.

It has roots that anchor the plant in cracks in the rocks. Samphire has fleshy, bluish-green stems, and clusters of tiny, whitish flowers.

Golden samphire is quite different plant. But it still has the same kind of thick, fleshy, very narrow leaves. Like ordinary samphire, it grows, among spray-splashed rocks and also in the salt marshes along the coasts. Its tightly packed, golden flower-heads are 1 inch across, and gleam in the sunshine. Each flower is made up of many flowers in one.

Golden samphire is a long-stemmed plant that belongs to the daisy family.