Jack rabbits in Ontario

None in my area any more, coyotes cleaned them all out. I used to have a pair living on my property about 20 yrs back, they had little ones every year and for the most part I left them alone. The only one I see now on a regular basis is the one mounted on my wall. I never see or even hear of any in the Collingwood area and it was poluted with them years ago.
 
I've seen 2 in the last 3 weeks, and I wasn't even looking for them! I was out hunting groundhogs and spooked one. The other, was sitting on the side of the road a few kms from there a couple of weeks earlier.
 
I have seen a couple in the last few week way down here in SW Ontario. I do see them once in a while in the winter way out in the fields. There are so few of them these days I don't bother shooting them.
 
Well twenty odd years ago there was a healthy population in and around the Owen Sound area. Used to love chasing them with beagles and blueticks and taking running shots as they stretched flat out across a field.

Not anymore?
 
Have only seen 2 in the past few years. Both in the winter while snowmobiling at night. One was running along the trail in a cornfield, and the other had been run over and was dead. This was south of St. Thomas near Fingal.
 
Used to see a lot years ago. Now, nothing but possums and coons by the side of the road. If i see a rabbit, I leave them alone, hoping they will re-populate. 35 miles southeast of London. Sad.
 
blasted_saber said:
Introduced species to Ontario. They just arent suited to tge way our agruculture industry has developed
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Seems from what I've seen, and what most of the folks have said here, that they were plentiful up until the last couple decades. Not sure that our agricultural practices are to blame for the low numbers of jack's in the last 20 years. I'd lean more towards our new, non native, predator as the problem.

Was hoping to hear that there were some healthy populations left somewhere.
 
We see jacks all the time when scouting for turkeys in the spring... we used to snipe them in the fall incidentally to coyote hunting, but haven't gone in four or five years.
 
About 50 years ago they were everywhere in Southern On. Then came the rabbit drives. Our part of Ontario is laid out in 1 mile square blocks. For a few years I honestly saw hunters no more than a hundred yards apart across the entire block drive through to stationary hunters on the other side. Hundreds of Jackrabbits were shot in this manner. It sounded like a war zone. This and heavy agriculture drastically reduced the numbers, although I see a few now while hunting coyote in the winter
 
I see a few each week. But then again I'm out in there habitat every day for work. I can almost bet that since I'm in the same areas twice a week, it's probably only a few individuals that I'm seeing repeatedly. Coyotes have put a hurt on almost all small game around my area.
 
Brutus said:
Technically speaking, I suspect the large hares these fellas are discussing in Ontario, are really the european brown hare.
These can easily grow to the size (perhaps even a bit bigger) of the whitetailed jackrabbit found on the grassy western plains.

Cheers!
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cool cool

I really dont know the difference, but I know theres alot of something running around in town here. :)
 
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