Where have all the rabbits gone ?????????
I have been rabbit hunting all over the county the past week & have yet to see 1 rabbit, have not even seen that many rabbit tracks ?
Anybody else have'n this trouble ??
Dan
Anybody else have'n this trouble ??
Dan
0
-
Dan, I deer hunt a little north and west of you some years. I noticed not nearly as many rabbits as when I was a kid there. I was told rabbit numbers are way down since the coyotes moved in in the 70's. 0 -
Rabbits have gotten thick here over the last couple of years. Of course no one hunts them anymore. Squirrels are the same, thick. Don 0 -
quote:Originally posted by dcon12
Rabbits have gotten thick here over the last couple of years. Of course no one hunts them anymore. Squirrels are the same, thick. Don
Ga. is a long way to drive for an afternoon of rabbit hunting, But if this keeps up here, put the coffee pot on.[:D]
Dan0 -
Interesting. I deer, turkey and pheasant hunt in Ill. & Wi. and definitely have noticed this. Coys??? 0 -
Coyotes for sure,, and cover is QUICKLY diminishing. Fence rows where vines, briars, small trees are getting cleared out. Cats,,,,lots of tame and wild cats now,,,also I have SEEN cougar in my area of southern Illinois. Not supposed to be here but am sure the Conservation Dept. have released them. I have a rabbit living under my patio for the last six months and I am not going to bother him/her.....nambu 0 -
we have large number of coyotes here so dont see very many jack rabbits here anymore back when i was a kid there was not very many coyotes and we had lots of jack rabbits.....also if oyu have lots of coyotes you wont have very many fox either. 0 -
We've got plenty of bunnies, squirrels, coyotes and cougar and bear.
I think the shortages may be more due to human expansion/development than preditor animals.0 -
Since all the hawks and owls were protected bunnys have been scarce all over.[V] 0 -
There are VERY few rabbits around here. Hunting season is a joke. We bought a small flock of about 20 or so chickens a few years back and lost them all to coyotes in about 3 weeks. Shot 3 coyotes. Bought about 15 more chickens and lost them all in 2 weeks. Coys are thick, thick, thick around here. We finally bought some Miniature donkeys after hearing how well they were for protecting against coys and havent lost a chicken since. I was amazed. 0 -
teh wabbits took the wrong turn at albuquerque [:p] 0 -
We've got the same situation here. Many of the fences have been pulled to combine the fields into larger units. There are far too many coyotes and lots more hawks than we used to have, although the fox numbers are down. I only saw a few rabbits during the entire harvest season this year. I think I saw more deer than rabbits. 0 -
It's cyclical.Rabbits are thick in NW Iowa right now.10 years ago you could'nt find one to save your butt.I don't enjoy cleaning or eating cotton-tails so they get no pressure from me.Dad's cat on the other hand gets one every other night or more.I prefer this variety. 
0 -
from what i have seen rabbit populations can decline rapidly and also explode rapidly. they run through many cycles depending on disease and predators. 0 -
We've got plenty of jackrabbits. Here's about 2% of the rabbits we saw the night we went out.
We don't have that many coyotes around, only saw two all Christmas break. [V] Wait about 5 or so years and we'll have a ton of coyotes and 0 rabbits.0 -
The cycle concept is very true for rabbits, but we are currently on the upswing side of the cycle here. There just aren't as many around as there were thirty years ago.
The quail situation is worse around here. We used to have three or four coveys around the farm here, but the only reason we even see a bird or two now and then anymore is because a neighbor raises them to release in an effort to establish a new population. He's been doing it for at least ten years now with a success rate of zero so far. I saw a covey of about twenty five birds he released in August, but I have not seen or heard a single one of them since October, and I've looked. I did find a few feathers though.0 -
Up here in southern NH
cotton tails are pretty
much endangered.0 -
quote:Originally posted by dcon12
Rabbits have gotten thick here over the last couple of years. Of course no one hunts them anymore. Squirrels are the same, thick. Don
I grew up a little north of Albany in Leesburg and will vouch that the rabbits are thick as thieves there. Counted 15 in daddy's yard last time I was down that way.0 -
quote:Originally posted by fastcarsgofast
quote:Originally posted by dcon12
Rabbits have gotten thick here over the last couple of years. Of course no one hunts them anymore. Squirrels are the same, thick. Don
I grew up a little north of Albany in Leesburg and will vouch that the rabbits are thick as thieves there. Counted 15 in daddy's yard last time I was down that way.
15? Thieves or rabbits?[;)][:D]0 -
BUUUUUUUURRRPPPP! 0 -
I've got cotton tails all over my neighborhood. We also have coyotes and some bobcats, but they dont eat the rabbits fast enough.
There are lots of jacks in the calif desert............
[img][/img]0 -
quote:There are lots of jacks in the calif desert............I saw almost no little critters when visiting one of the hill towns in that state. The birds had the ground swept clean. Never saw squirrels, very few mice-sized animals, and no rabbits.
Huntingnerd, is that you pictured?
Should you die tomorrow, you sure don't want to go thinking "Damn! I'm still a virgin!"
Especially since you might end up one of the "72 virgins" promised to our Middle-Eastern brethren. [;)]0 -
quote:Originally posted by dlrjj
quote:Originally posted by fastcarsgofast
quote:Originally posted by dcon12
Rabbits have gotten thick here over the last couple of years. Of course no one hunts them anymore. Squirrels are the same, thick. Don
I grew up a little north of Albany in Leesburg and will vouch that the rabbits are thick as thieves there. Counted 15 in daddy's yard last time I was down that way.
15? Thieves or rabbits?[;)][:D]
Could have been either. Don0 -
It's hard to find rabbits, quail, or pheasants here thanks to CRP, coyotes, and the red tail hawk. 0 -
Come to Virginia Beach. My yard is like a breeding ground for
rabbits. Even saw one while I was walking into work the other morning
on Naval Station Norfolk.0 -
quote:Originally posted by dcon12
quote:Originally posted by dlrjj
quote:Originally posted by fastcarsgofast
quote:Originally posted by dcon12
Rabbits have gotten thick here over the last couple of years. Of course no one hunts them anymore. Squirrels are the same, thick. Don
I grew up a little north of Albany in Leesburg and will vouch that the rabbits are thick as thieves there. Counted 15 in daddy's yard last time I was down that way.
15? Thieves or rabbits?[;)][:D]
Could have been either. Don
Both actually. Naw just cottn tails. A bunch of little ones and a few fat ones. We don't eat them just like to watch them run.0 -
quote:but am sure the Conservation Dept. have released them.
Good local myth, but highly unlikely and far too much liability if they did it. Cougars are doing well in most areas and are definately expanding their range again.
During the early part of the century farmers cleared fence rows and areas between field and also enlarged fields. This combined with drought in the "dust bowl" years to create large tracts of earth with no windbreaks. As I travel now, I see the same thing happening again. Where I grew up in the mid-west, the farmers knew that what was good for wildlife was good for farms and they left fence rows and ravines timbered. It created a lot of fine habitat for small game and game birs aw well as travel routs for deer and larger animals. Fewer family farms now and more corporate, and less habitat for wildlife.0 -
Reason 27,369,483,728,734,982,837 to dispatch feral cats with prejudice. 0 -
In my neck of the woods, the yote population is way up as are the number of redtail hawks. I believe this is why rabbits are pretty scarce. 0 -
In Maine, a couple of recent years of minimal snow cover hurt the hare population. Nothing like a white bunny against a brown background. Coyotes definitely will have an impact on ANY mammal population. While snowshoeing around last weekend, I saw more coyote tracks than anything else, by far.
A reminder that hawks are protected under federal law and killing one could get you a big fine. On the other hand, shoot coyotes at will, since they seldom get legal protection and don't deserve it, IMO.0 -
Fur prices are low on predator furs such as Coyotes and Fox so hardly anybody traps anymore. Way too many predators eating bunnies. 0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
36 comments