VIDEO: Boxing hares in the Cairngorms mark the start of spring

For most of us the first sign of spring is the daffodils emerging but in northern Scotland it is the hares boxing.

And it’s mainly the women fending off the men or testing the mettle of their admirers by giving them a good pasting.

These punching pictures were taken by wildlife photographer and guide Andy Howard in the Cairngorms national park near his home in Inverness.

Although boxing hares were thought to be between males vying for dominance, research showed that it was often females fending off randy males.

Andy, 45 said: “The mountain hares are one of Britain’s truly native creatures, having been here since the last ice age