Scientist says jackrabbits are gone from Yellowstone

Jackson Hole Star Tribune & AP ^ | February 15, 2008 | MATTHEW BROWN

[george76]

A jackrabbit found throughout much of the West has disappeared from the Yellowstone area, although the reason why remains a mystery, a new study concludes.

Whatever the cause, the study suggests the white-tailed jackrabbit's disappearance has wrought major changes to Yellowstone's food chain.

Coyotes and wolves, which could have depended on the rabbit as a significant food source, apparently turned their attention instead to larger prey including young elk, pronghorn antelope -- even domestic livestock.

However, because the rabbit's decline went relatively unnoticed until now, quantifying that shift is virtually impossible, said the study's lead author, Joel Berger with the Wildlife Conservation Society.

The white-tailed jackrabbit -- also known as the prairie hare -- was once a common sight in and around Yellowstone National Park...

Berger's study, appearing in the latest issue of the scientific journal Oryx, tells of one inhabitant of the region encountering "jillions" of the animals near Yellowstone as late as the 1930s.

Yet by the middle of the century, sightings within the 23,000 square mile Yellowstone region grew increasingly rare. That area includes portions of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

Only three have been spotted by scientists since 1991 -- all in Grand Teton National Park...

[Myrddin]

I've been a rabbit hunter most of my life. Cotton tails were plentiful in San Diego...before all my old hunting grounds were covered with houses. The locals in Idaho tell me that the rabbits in the area were eradicated with a viral disease that attacked the rabbit's eyes. I've seen an increase in rabbits around Pocatello in the past 2 years. Perhaps the diseased stock is gone and a new generation of healthy rabbits is on the rise. That would be nice.

My wife prefers jackrabbits as prey for her hunting raptors. Unlike the cottontail, the jacks stay above ground. A good Red Tail can nail them with ease.

[Myrddin]

They don’t know why they disappeared but they want to reintroduce them, probably at a cost of millions.

Just have a look at the stupidity and results from "re-introducing" wolves. The wolves that were native weighed around 45 lbs. The Canadian wolves introduced into the area weigh 120+ lbs. They have devastated the deer, elk and moose populations...not to mention attacks on domestic livestock.

[Myrddin]

I successfully hunted many cotton tail rabbits with a .22 cal Benjamin air rifle while I was in high school. It was a safer approach when hunting canyons near residential areas. When I could get back deeper into the canyons and a safe distance from homes, I would use my bolt action .22LR with CCI MiniMags. I preserved the pelts and roasted the rabbit in the oven.

[mad_as_he$$]

Especially the Kalifornia State flag bear - the Grizzly.

[Skywalk]

Myxomatosis, maybe? (The disease that killed off the rabbits.)

I’m a lifelong PET rabbit owner. I’m not going to jump on you, I just can’t imagine harming little bunnies. Having a rabbit, I feel like them being so fragile and small and still intelligent enough to have a personality, that they make me a better person.

They have lots of rabbits out here in Iowa, there are dozens of tracks in the back of our house in the snow. They come real close to the house too and I bet my rabbit has seen one or two while looking out of the window (she gets up on the sill and sits.)

[geopyg]

Back in Jr. High the cottontails were all over the place in Northern Minnesota. By High School their numbers were way down, but - the grouse numbers were way up. A natural cycle (I think it was something like 3 to 5 years for peaks and troughs???). Although this stuff in Yellowstone sounds too long to be just a cycle. And even though it is a protected national park, I’m sure we’ll get blamed for it somehow. (Perhaps if they had been hunted and managed over the years they would still be around? Although I’m not sure how tasty jacks are?)

[SeaHawkFan]

Scientist says jackrabbits are gone from Yellowstone

Probably being poached by sex toy manufacturers.

[Myrddin]

I can distinguish the difference between pet rabbits and wild rabbits. I had a beautiful rabbit as a pet for over 10 years. She snuggled in my lap, ate bananas and was a real sweetheart. I also had many rabbits in the vivarium at grad school. I did most of the cardiac punctures for blood samples because I could do it properly without killing the rabbits. The cottontails that made it to my table were never wasted in the least. Food and pelts were always used.

I'm a big fan of Red Satin rabbits. Someday I will have pet rabbits again. It's not a good idea right now with 3 Rat Terriers and two big Maine Coon cats running around the house.

[Skywalk]

Yeah, not a good idea with those guys running around. And I definitely wasn’t deriding your hunting, it would just be impossible for me to separate unless I were in the wilderness and had no choice. But you ate them and used their fur, so not much to be said.

I love my current rabbit, she’s a mini-Rex and I believe the Red Satin ones you’re talking about are Red-tinted Rexes. For awhile, I was opposed to the idea of the fur, however nice it looked but it’s wonderful to pet and they have a two-toned coat because of it(thorax and under the chin.)

My other rabbit lasted 11 years herself. This one is a little nicer and less independent, which is nice because she follows me around and sits at my feet at the computer desk.

[Myrddin]

We have a pair of dwarf rabbits for a time in San Diego. One of them loved to toss spoons in the air. They arrived at our house as newborns without a mother rabbit. It took weeks of bottle feeding, but they grew up just fine.

My wife also likes birds. Our first male Cockatiel lived 25 years. It outlived another male and a female acquired from some friends who were moving out of state. We have another male Cocktiel right now. He's about 3 years old. We've been married for just a few months short of 30 years now. This new Cockatiel may outlive us.

[Marine_Uncle]

As another freeper indicated, perhaps Yellowstone area is about to blow sky high and the jack rabbits figured time to clear the area in advance.

[Texas Songwriter]

The Yellowstone Jackrabbit is one of the smartest. They flew south for the winter.

[potlatch]

[egginanest]

[george76]

LOL

Thanks

[Judith Anne]

ROFL!!!

[cherry]

yes, this will definately mean a new commission and a new study group and probably we'll have to close down Yellowstone to do it.....

how amazing isn't it, that animals don't live by what the human "experts" predict....that they go after the best prey, the most meat and the easiest targets every single time....why chase down a rabbit when you can have a young elk calf lying in the grass?

[HenpeckedCon]

I know exactly what happened to them, in one word... Hosenphefer!

[elkfersupper]

If jackrabbits end up being federally-protected, it will leave me with (almost) nothing to do with my various varmint guns after December but get into mischief.

We don't want that.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks for the pings. I knew they should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque.