A baby hare hitched a ride from England to Scotland after seemingly hiding in a backpack.

The little leveret was discovered within a house in the village of Gartocharn, West Dunbartonshire, on 3 July.

The Scottish SPCA believe the animal hopped into an unsuspecting member of the public’s bag in Durham and made the journey north of the border.

The hare is now in the care of the charity’s National Wildlife Rescue Centre in Clackmannanshire.

Chris Hogsden, centre manager, said: “It’s a bit of a mystery how this leveret ended up in the house.

“One of the residents had recently returned from Durham and we think the hare might have been hiding in their backpack unbeknownst to them.

“They travelled straight from Durham to Alexandria so there was no other stop where they could have picked up this tiny hitchhiker.”

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The male hare was said to be “quite stressed” at first and a little underweight. He has since been moved into an outdoor aviary enclosure.

Mr Hogsden said: “[We] found the sights, sounds and smells of the natural world really helped to calm him down and get him to settle.

“As he was so young and underweight, he was initially on milk feeds but he’s now reached a healthy weight and will soon be weaned.

“We’re hopeful that he’s on track to be released back into the wild in a few weeks’ time.”

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