Jack rabbits on rebound?

Originally Posted By: SlickerThanSnot
how ya been dave? you all making it through this covid buIIshit alright? many coyotes around?

merry Christmas to you and the family.

Been pretty good! And we're making it through the covid so far.

Not too many coyotes around though. A few, in spots, but that ain't saying much. I have been getting out and about a decent amount, but not hunting too hard. Mostly just enjoying being out there, messing around old ghost towns, eating good around the campfire and stuff like that.

Totally agree on the seed thing. Need to have some, and some places don't have any. Saw a scattering of jackrabbit sign last weekend, few small spots, over a pretty big area. Nothing like huntable numbers, but enough seed in enough places to give some hope for the future at least.

Merry Christmas!

- DAA
 
What about increased predatory bird numbers? There's owls and hawks everywhere, and eagles made a huge recovery over the last few decades. When I see those kinds of numbers I wonder why it's totally "hands off" instead of managing their numbers like any other predator.
 
I'm sure the numbers of raptors doesn't help. But I don't think it's a major factor, myself.

Prey generally determines carrying capacity for the predators. Predators don't generally control prey populations. It's usually the other way around.

Once jacks get on a roll, predators can't do anything about it. The area where that video clip was shot, was crawling with coyote at that same time.

About fifteen years ago, me and my buddy Tim rolled up on a spot in the winter time, around a natural spring in the desert, where the jacks were thick like a biblical plague. Could see a couple dozen running around at any given moment. Right at the spring, the sage was really tall. Too tall to hunt the rabbits in. Like seven foot tall sage brush.

Also a couple big cottonwoods right there at the spring. With a pair of roosting Golden Eagles. There were about two dozen jacks hanging in the tops of that tall sage under the cottonwoods. With only their eyeballs missing. Those eagles were so stuffed on jackrabbit, they were only eating the eyeballs! Yet there were still so many jacks the ground appeared to be moving.

Interesting side note - there were LOTS of lesser birds around. Small hawks, ravens, magpies etc. Yet those jacks still had only the eyeballs missing. My thought was that those lesser birds didn't want to get too close to that golden eagle nest!

Similar deal another time. We walked through a spot and just shot the crap out of jackrabbits. It was thick with them and we shot I don't know how many. Came back the next day and a bunch of the dead jacks had just their guts eaten out by coyotes, but most weren't even touched. Again, lots of coyotes, so stuffed on jackrabbit they weren't bothering to eat the whole thing. And still thousands of rabbits hopping around everywhere.

Etc.

Big birds of prey might suppress a jack population in one little spot, for a little while. But if conditions are right for the jacks to multiply, the birds aren't going to stop it or even slow it down. With the number of litters and the number of generations possible in one year under ideal conditions, one pair of jacks can produce 200 jacks in a year. They get a chance to really get going, they get going!

- DAA
 
walking to a coyote stand and kicked up a big jack this morning. first one i have seen in a long time.

also had a pair of magpies come in to check out the e-caller racket a few stands later. have not had that happen in a long time either. bad thing is there was no coyote with them.

was a good cold day to be out in the prairie.
 
Back
Top