Author Topic: What is up with our rabbit population????? (Read 6193 times)

Wyo. Coyote Hunter · « **on:** February 01, 2011, 06:59:47 AM »

$:-\$ This morning while checking email, I had a note from a Tx. outfitter who commented that rabbits seem to be down all across the country..he got this info. from the various hunters that came to his deer camps this fall..it was pretty amazing to me, he felt rabbits were down in even in Tx which I always thought was the rabbit capital of our nation..but I hear this comment quite abit as I travel, or visit with hunters from other areas..he felt it is a wide spread condition in our country...I know the areas I hunt frequently rabbits are pretty scarce...here in Wy. both Jacks and bunnies have been down for many years...I think the last excellent year I had for bunnies was in the late 80's..I see a few, but nothing like I did years ago..BUT the number of eagles, coyotes, hawks, and ravens is tremendous right now...he also commented on the lack of quail.. they have failed to return even though conditions have been excellent for nesting...I know our game birds have never reached the numbers in the 80's..Could just be a cycle, but it seems like a long down ward cycle and slow upward cycle.. I sometimes wonder if these small animals might not be the indicators of the quality of our natural enviornment..just a thought...

cwlongshot · « **Reply #1 on:** February 01, 2011, 08:08:37 AM »

I don't know if its true or not. But I always remember my grandfather telling me that rabbit populations went in cycles, more and more until a spike in population then next to none the following year until it builds too many again then repeats... IIRC it was 8 years..

CW

Wyo. Coyote Hunter · « **Reply #2 on:** February 01, 2011, 10:06:48 AM »

cw, I have heard the same thing...that is my point..rabbits aren't coming back...I hunt the same country I did in the 80's..the bunnies aren't there nor are the jacks..when I deer hunted this fall in Pa. there were only a very, very few spots with any rabbit tracks..in areas where they were abundant..I have been making trips to this country for the last 12 yrs. or so..the cycles aren't happening..In Wy. were I live, jacks are seldom seen..in the 80's hundreds could be found dead on the local highways..now it is kind of an event to see one..hunters in other places tell me the same story..

DickelDawg · « **Reply #3 on:** February 08, 2011, 05:51:39 AM »

I've lived in NW Colorado for over 30 years and I have the same question as WYO. Rabbit populations do cycle up and down but in the last 10 or 15 years I've not seen any increase as compared to what I had seen in '80s. It's gotten to where I hesitate to shoot a rabbit because there seem to be so few.

mechanic · « **Reply #4 on:** February 08, 2011, 06:22:39 AM »

Wyo. Coyote Hunter, I think your name speaks volumes here. A dramatic increase in coyotes locally, and less and less farming.

Ben

Blackhawker · « **Reply #5 on:** February 08, 2011, 06:23:35 AM »

I agree; in the 80's there were rabbits all over Wyo and now I hardly see any at all. Same with Jackrabbits and prairie dogs. Something is going on??? In the area of Wyo that I frequent, I wonder if it has anything to do with land reclaimation after the area has been strip mined, or just strip mining itself? Once you tear up the upper 50 feet of the earth for miles and miles, even though you can put it back and make it LOOK natural, one can only imagine that the underground dwelling critters have to pay the price.

Who knows, maybe they have a hard time burrowing into the stuff afterward?? So, if those areas are trashed for the ground critters, that leaves the predators only the unmined areas in which to hunt. With LOTS of predators and pockets of natural unmined areas, maybe the populations of ground critters in unmined areas become overhunted?
....if any of that made sense...

I don't know how to explain any decreases in other areas that are not strip mined, however.

Blackhawker · « **Reply #6 on:** February 08, 2011, 06:30:56 AM »

I've always had the crazy thought of breeding tons of prairie dogs and releasing them back to WYO so there is something to hunt. Maybe a rabbit program is needed? Heck, they did it for the ferrets.

b44mag · « **Reply #7 on:** February 13, 2011, 07:33:39 AM »

have to agree with mechanic the yotes are eating good in sw pa lots of fox n yote tracks following the rabbit tracks going to start trapping next season the pheasents are on the decline also was out pheasent hunting in my fav spot i get 1 or 2 every time almost but not this year but sure is lots of the yote n fox tracks everywhere heres a pic of my buddy he got nice grey yesterday in our rabbit spot its the 5th one out of that spot and my other buddy got 2 yotes same spot and plenty more there im sure

Swampman · « **Reply #8 on:** February 13, 2011, 08:11:23 AM »

In the past every raptor was killed as soon as possible and the same for coyotes. Sadly there are so many birds of prey now (and other predators) that we have no rabbits, quail, or much of anything in the way of small game.

chefjeff · « **Reply #9 on:** February 13, 2011, 09:35:55 AM »

Everything wants to eat a wascally wabbit.

gcrank1 · « **Reply #10 on:** March 05, 2011, 12:43:40 PM »

Im thinking the same thing here in S-Central WI, and Ive lived here most of my life, this place for about 25yrs. We have 'yotes and fox too, and I think the hawks and owls are getting the most, but the bunnies, quail and grouse have been thin for a long time.

hillbill · « **Reply #11 on:** March 05, 2011, 01:20:35 PM »

i cant speak for the fellers in the other parts of the us but my opion is much the same.when fur price was high we had tons of rabbits, squirrels,some quail and plentiful fox, mink and muskrat.now id have a much better chance of killing a deer for supper than a rabbit.no fox or mink left also more bodcats than ever.racoons are so thick i can set 5 traps on the creek and get 5 coons the next morn.the yotes have taken over here. ive killed every yote thats stuk his head out it the daylight for so long that they are completely nocturnal.they have run out the foxes, which used to be plentifull, almost completely.the raptors are so rampant. red tail hawks and eagles are everywhere.i honestly dont know what they are eating cuz there are no rabbits, the squirells are so scared to come out in the open it aint funny.i dont see any help in sight for small game unless fur price goes up. there is no other way. one poster said that rabbit numbers move in cycles. yes they did. ive hunted them for 30 yrs, and they did exactly that untill maybe 10 or 15 yrs ago when predator fur was worth nothing.

Bugflipper · « **Reply #12 on:** March 05, 2011, 03:33:02 PM »

Farming practices, habitat loss, predation, food/water source and sickness are all contributing factors. If you see dormant overgrown fields, you will usually see a lot of rabbits there. I have two small farms. Many years ago I got into habitat management as prescribed by quail unlimited. Today there is an abundance of upland, small and large game on the two places. When compared to other farms in the area there is a huge difference.

Blackhawker · « **Reply #13 on:** March 06, 2011, 03:33:19 AM »

The hawks and owls are primarily eating voles and mice, not rabbits. The raptors only shift to larger or more risky game when their regular food sources run short.

gcrank1 · « **Reply #14 on:** March 06, 2011, 04:03:49 AM »

I was thinking that they were getting the young, but I sure dont know. Doesnt take a 'yote or fox but a quick lick to grab them either, after all, they make their living out there. We have a lot of unfarmed/dormant land here, as well as public H&F land, and I just dont see the critters but rarely.
Now Im thinkin' on going a'gunning, so Im back on the food chain too. Ah well, its mostly an excuse to be out and about and carry a gun, as God and the Founding Fathers intended.

Ron 1 · « **Reply #15 on:** March 06, 2011, 04:14:00 AM »

i am sure there is more to it then just the fox,coyotes,cats,dogs and a few others critters that eat rabbits. but the more i walk the prime bunny spots the more new gut /tail piles i see from the yotes with tracks all around the area. the more yotes i get and remove from the area it seems two or three more take its place.
well it snowed last night and the sun is shinning and above freezing

just had a idea

grab the .410 s the boys and go look for 1 the yotes missed or a couple

i will post update after we get back

rw

Blackhawker · « **Reply #16 on:** March 06, 2011, 09:50:26 AM »

Quote from: gcrank1 on March 06, 2011, 04:03:49 AM

I was thinking that they were getting the young, but I sure dont know. Doesnt take a 'yote or fox but a quick lick to grab them either, after all, they make their living out there. We have a lot of unfarmed/dormant land here, as well as public H&F land, and I just dont see the critters but rarely.
Now Im thinkin' on going a'gunning, so Im back on the food chain too. Ah well, its mostly an excuse to be out and about and carry a gun, as God and the Founding Fathers intended.

Yup, you're correct, they can get the young ones too. It's easy game for them. For that matter though, there are a lot of ferral cats out in Wisconsin these days too, as I hear it. I suppose they do some damage up there too. I know they've been reported to do a lot of damage on the bird populations.

mechanic · « **Reply #17 on:** March 06, 2011, 10:49:03 AM »

I've got a game cam photo of a large tom bobcat with a squirril in it's mouth, taken at 2:00 a.m. The squirril probably didn't even wake up..........I have seen no squirrils out and about on my hunting land this year...

Ben

torpedoman · « **Reply #18 on:** March 06, 2011, 11:57:48 AM »

ben iu eastern wash for 6 yrs now and have not seen a single rabbit here

Ron 1 · « **Reply #19 on:** March 07, 2011, 12:36:24 AM »

with as much poo and tracks i know that we still have rabbits here. we hunted some yesterday had lots of tracks but did not see a one

maybe they only come out at night now.

there sure is a lot of sign that the rabbit does exist
rw

Dee · « **Reply #20 on:** March 07, 2011, 02:04:15 AM »

Quote from: Bugflipper on March 05, 2011, 03:33:02 PM

Farming practices, habitat loss, predation, food/water source and sickness are all contributing factors. If you see dormant overgrown fields, you will usually see a lot of rabbits there. I have two small farms. Many years ago I got into habitat management as prescribed by quail unlimited. Today there is an abundance of upland, small and large game on the two places. When compared to other farms in the area there is a huge difference.

I think this gentleman has a good handle on the question of few rabbits. I have broached this topic before, and it is a sore spot at the local cafe when the farmers are there. In my younger days my buddies and I with the assistance of one old female beagle would kill in excess of 30 rabbits in a day using 22s. I kept beagles, and bird dogs as a young man later in the 70s and 80s, and then farming practices CHANGED BIG TIME. Habitat as far as fence rows, and wooded areas are the same as 50 years ago. BUT! What has changed is: Farmers now use spray rigs! Not little ones, but the kind that fold out to about a 40 feet on either side of the spray vehicle. They come into a field and spray herbicide to kill the weeds and grass, then they come in and spray chemical fertilizer to rev the soil up because the herbicide killed all the microbes that help the crop break the minerals down, and then when the crop starts coming up they come in and spray it again with fertilizer so strong it burns the leaves on wheat and corn.
I've seen fertilizer spills that were so strong, moss would start to grow on bare ground in a matter of just a few hours.
The funny thing about this is: Around here the few places that are not farmed, have a few quail and rabbits. Both these species tend to hunker down, and let the spray rig passover them thereby getting soaked with what ever the farmer is spaying. This includes rabbit nests, and quail eggs, not to mention they eat the stuff too.

Wyo. Coyote Hunter · « **Reply #21 on:** March 07, 2011, 07:52:14 AM »

Someone mentioned feral cats, this mths. FUR FISH GAME had a short piece on how much damage cats do to the wild life in the world..not only feral ones, but domestic cats that are permited to roam the country..luck for me, they are still predators here in Wy..Greybeard said they are protected in Ala..what a sad state of affairs....

Dee · « **Reply #22 on:** March 07, 2011, 09:10:44 AM »

Your dead on there also Wyo.Coyote Hunter. A house cat can be hauled to the country and turned loose, and in two week will be as wild as a billy goat. They will wipe out a squirrel population, rabbits, and nesting birds, both ground and tree. When they get too plentiful in my neighborhood, the trap starts getting set, and they are taken out and vaccinated with a Winchester.

Wyo. Coyote Hunter · « **Reply #23 on:** March 07, 2011, 09:17:12 AM »

Dee, we are lucky to be able to do something legally and effectively against these predators..in another state, I have relatives that own or support dozens of half wild cats roaming over the entire community..when I visit, it is a pleasure to remove some of these pests from the business of killing off all the wildlife in the area..shoot straight...

Dee · « **Reply #24 on:** March 07, 2011, 09:19:10 AM »

I have a neighbor that traps them and hauls them to the country and releases them. I have told him about the damage, but he doesn't hunt anymore, so he doesn't care.

Wyo. Coyote Hunter · « **Reply #25 on:** March 07, 2011, 09:21:53 AM »

Sad..People amaze me how they feel if a problem leaves their area, it is no longer a problem...ask him to save some gas and you take them for that final ride...

gcrank1 · « **Reply #26 on:** March 07, 2011, 09:36:13 AM »

Have you asked him how he'd feel about somebody trapping preditors and dropping them off at his house?

Dee · « **Reply #27 on:** March 07, 2011, 09:59:58 AM »

Have you ever talked to a fence post? It would be the same principle.

hillbill · « **Reply #28 on:** March 09, 2011, 02:55:38 PM »

id have to agree with yu guys about the cats. they used to be a prob here as well.whats weird is that years ago when rabbits were plentifull i shot maybe 1 or 2 cats a month.now i havent shot one in a year.maybe the word got out and they avoid me.we farm maybe 500 acres and havent changed our practices in the last 20 yrs, if anything we have got more lax on brush and weed control because of the expense.im wondering if the almost exclusive use of poulty manure for fertilizer has transferred some kind of disease to the rabbit population?

Rummer · « **Reply #29 on:** March 11, 2011, 03:04:44 PM »

When I was a kid in the 80's rabbits were a regular sight around our home in rural wetstern pa. In the summers they were all over the place. Back then hawks & foxes were rare & coyotes were all but unheard of. Now I see foxes & hawks regulalrly, and hear coyotoes from time to time. Then there's the feral cats...

At the end of the day rabbits have less habitat & more predators than they did 30 years ago. I haven't seen a rabbit in the woods in the fall in 15 years or so.