Jackrabbits coming back!

I can't even remember the last time I saw a jackrabbit in southeastern South Dakota before this year. 10 years? 15? So far I've seen a handful in a couple of places. Tonight, I saw 6 leaving dust trails across my father in laws place as I pulled in. Couldn't get the camera out in time before they were a quarter section away. No wonder he wants me to get his 243 worked up. Time to limber up the Swift. Or maybe let them breed another year or two...

And coyotes will follow along shortly.

Interesting! I was driving back from the range a couple months ago and when I crested a hill, and about 3/4 of mile I saw what I thought was a coyote crossing the road. Within a few seconds I was at the point it crossed and I slowed down to get a visual and I saw the largest jack rabbit I've ever seen disappearing into the dead grass. This thing was huge! Like tiny kangaroo huge. Since then I've seen a couple near the archery range late at night mixed in with the handful of abundant cotton tails.

Saw a few jackrabbits in north-eastern Wyoming last fall.

Hadn't seen one in quite a while.

How come are the numbers so low? I know the snowshoe hare around here has a predictable boom and bust cycle maybe the jack rabbits are the same down there.

If I recall correctly, in Oregon it is a seven year cycle. We used to hunt a couple of farms over in Christmas valley and Silver Lake during the winter. We would get on top of the haystacks and try to kill them as they rushed out of the sage. Couldn't keep them from getting to the hay. Some nights we would shoot hundreds. The dang things would eat so much alfalfa of the bottom the stacks would fall over.

I have a couple of hundreds outside my house right now I bet!!!!

KSUbuck- that is great to hear. It has been years since Ive heard of huntable populations of Jacks in Gods country. ( Iknow they go in cycles but its been a long time...). Back in 2006 I was in Wyo. for an antelope hunt and they were almost carpeting on the highways around Douglas, but none in SD. Good to hear, Many good memories chasing Jacks as a youngster. CL

Lots of jacks around my place this spring, too


Lots of fun putting the smack down with the .17 HMR

It does bring back memories of youth. I have no idea where they went or what killed them off. Over the years I have asked many people that might be "in the know" and no one knew. If it was some mysterious disease, why did the cottontails thrive? Loss of habitat doesn't make sense either as pheasant numbers have gone way up. And I know that no matter how hard I tired, I didn't kill them all.

Saw a story about how Fargo ND is having problems with them on the edge of town.