The Rabbit Cycle

luckythirteen

luckythirteen

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Yukon Territory
So I am wondering if anyone else is seeing a low in rabbits lately? BC, Alberta, anywhere else east?
Last year I didn’t see many, only got a couple and this year I’ve only seen one. Up until two years ago, they were everywhere!
I enjoy getting out and finding nice little spots to pick off a couple and bring them home for a nice pot of soup but I am having no luck this year and seeing very few tracks. I do see lots of lynx’s tracks. Talking with some others around the Yukon, their snares have been empty and only getting a few, when normally they would be up in the dozens by now.
The rabbit cycle talk has been coming up and I’m curious if anyone else out there is noticing it’s on the low? Maybe time to switch over to ice fishing for a few years but ice fishing doesn’t necessarily require a gun, it does accept a cold flask of whiskey though lol
 
The snowshoe hare cycle might still be real in the Yukon, but in most places where humans have settled & altered the landscape, it's gone (or severely moderated). For what it's worth, the hare numbers seem relatively high in central & northeastern BC... caused primarily by logging activity that is producing a lot of young, dense stands that the hares love. Spacing, thinning and spraying with herbicide drastically reduces the habitat quality, however.
 
Every 4 years they blow up in population, grouse the year after, foxes after that and then they all stay low population for a year then up at it again like rabbits and grouse haha
 
Here in Eastern Ontario, from my perspective, the rabbit cycle is on the upswing. Cottontail especially, have been increasing quite dramatically the past 2 years. Snowshoe hare are somewhat stable presently. Coyotes likewise, but Red Fox are increasing.
 
My friend "lives" north of Kamloops (he's currently in the lower mainland for work but he still owns his home and goes up there every few weeks) and he was saying the rabbit numbers seem low this year in his area. He's not a hunter, but he does a fair bit of 4x4ing and says he's used to seeing them scurrying off the road as he goes and has seen very few this year.
 
Same here, we had them in the yard constantly, tracks and #### everywhere about 3 years ago to only seeing one this whole year and just a few tracks. On my property an the surrounding area there down quite a bit. Other areas ive seen average numbers of them
 
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