This population has been classified as a distinct species Lepus tanaiticus, but is now generally considered a prehistoric morphotype of the living mountain hare.

[4] This species is distributed from Fennoscandia to eastern Siberia; in addition, isolated mountain populations occur in the Alps, Scotland, the Baltics, northeastern Poland, and Hokkaidō.

In Ireland, the Irish hare (L. t. hibernicus) lives on lowland pastures, coastal grasslands, and salt marshes, not just in the mountains.

[9] The subspecies Lepus timidus hibernicus (the Irish mountain hare) is smaller in size and stays brown all year.

While this winter fur is actually a very good camouflage in the coastal regions of Finland where the snow covers the shrubs only a short time, the mountain hare is better adapted for the snowier conditions of the inland areas.

[2] In the European Alps, the mountain hare lives at elevations from 700 to 3,800 metres (2,300 to 12,500 ft), depending on biographic region and season.

A 2013 study looking at stress events and the response of mountain hares to disturbance concluded that those hares living in areas of high winter recreational activities showed changes in physiology and behaviour that demanded additional energy input at a time when access to food resources is restricted by snow.

On May 17, 2020, MSPs voted to ban the unlicensed culling of mountain hares and grant them protected species status within Scotland after a petition started by Green MSP Alison Johnstone gathered over 22,000 signatures.

The trust believes climate change is a threat to long-term survival of the Peak District population, which was introduced to the area in the 1870s.