Syracuse.com - Scriba man asks: Where have all the rabbits gone?

[HuntingNY-News]

"Nobody traps around here any more. I'm seeing more and more coyotes, even in the daytime," he said.

I got a call this week from Charlie Dumas, of Scriba, who asked me if I’d seen any cottontail rabbits lately.

“I got out after the first snowfall to check my property (70 acres), which has an area where they usually are,” he said. “There’s briar patches, apple trees. I saw absolutely nothing. Didn’t see a single track.”

Dumas figures the foxes, fishers and coyotes have teamed up to wiped them out on his property — particularly the coyotes.

“Nobody traps around here any more. I’m seeing more and more coyotes, even in the daytime,” he said.

What's everyone else seeing out there? Is CNY's rabbit population taking a hit?

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog

[Silverpigeon]

I can attest to the same experience. I used to jump 8-10 rabbits in one day in one of my spots upstate. But I have noticed a decline in the rabbit population over the past few years to the point where I wasn't able to flush one in that spot when I hit it last month. I've been out 5-6 times this year, and only managed to see 3 over the entire season. There is definitely a disaster going on with the coyote population explosion. I can only assume (and hope) that when the rabbit population goes down, the 'yotes will move out, allowing the rabbits to repopulate.