Rabbits - The Predator's Lunch
Sept 17, 2010 23:18:43 GMT -7
Post by Timber Butte Outdoors on Sept 17, 2010 23:18:43 GMT -7
I would like to talk about something that has been floating around in my head for sometime: The subject is; Rabbits – the Predators’ food source!
Over all the years of calling coyotes, all predators for that matter! I have made some observations.
But! First! Let me ask you a question?
Of all the times that you have been out calling, have you seen rabbits?
Whether cottontail, jack rabbits, or snowshoes, “where” did you see them?
By the question, “where” I mean the type of topography of the area you saw the rabbits. Like on a sage brush flat, draw bottom, creek bottom, hillside, ridgeline, etc……
I am asking for your answer because; I have an idea that they are all going to be similar?
In all the years I have been calling coyotes; I have usually looked for and tried to call from an elevated location. By this I mean, I usually walk over the top of a ridge, down the slope a ways to get below the ridgeline, so that I am not silhouetted while sitting. Still it is on a hillside; whether steep or sloping, or a knob top. But it seems that it is always far up the slope from the flat bottom land, or valley floor.
Of all the years of calling, I have learned by walking ridges and hills; that rabbit don’t inhabit those ridges, hillsides, steep or sloping, for a reason!
That reason is: rabbits only inhabit flat areas, or genteelly sloped areas, because rabbits depend on his running speed to elude and survive a predator attack.
It is only logical to think that; if the rabbit was living on the hillside, he couldn’t use his burst of speed to get away; yeah he could utilize the down slope to make his or her getaway (but I don’t think a rabbit has that kind of logical thinking power), but not so much for going uphill; due to the angle of the hill will not allow him to hit mach speed to make a successful getaway. Therefore: It is my belief that coyote’s know that there are no rabbits living on a steep hillsides.
I am sure you have as I have; sat on steep hillsides above a sage flat, started squalling on a rabbit predator call, all of a sudden the flat below your position has literally come alive with movement, you focus your attention on the movement, and you realize that you were watching rabbits moving around. From your perch above the flats, you can see long rabbit ears, rabbit body parts, and movement of the local rabbit population. But! It was always on the flats, sagebrush, or grass flats, brushy dry creek banks, and in the bottoms of draws, never up on the hills slopes or ridges.
If you have ever hunted cottontail rabbits, how many CT’s have you found and shot on a hillside, and have found all of them on the sage and brush flats, and creek bottoms chocked with brush.
Therefore, with all that thinking, I surmise, that getting your self down slope farther, like on the edge of the sagebrush flat, making your stand on the foot of the hill, or find a small rise, just high enough to see over the sagebrush or tall grass, then you can begin your stand with your rabbit call.
This method will put you into the territory that the coyote would hunt or find the prey that they hunt. Giving you a more realistic stand; within the area that the coyote would expect to hear a dying rabbit blues coming from. Because the coyote knows where they are finding and hunting rabbits, and if they think their pray is being killed in his hunting area, he is going to come in to take a look, expecting to kick some butt!
Give it a try! Then come back and let us hear your success in using this method.
Good Hunting
Gary
Over all the years of calling coyotes, all predators for that matter! I have made some observations.
But! First! Let me ask you a question?
Of all the times that you have been out calling, have you seen rabbits?
Whether cottontail, jack rabbits, or snowshoes, “where” did you see them?
By the question, “where” I mean the type of topography of the area you saw the rabbits. Like on a sage brush flat, draw bottom, creek bottom, hillside, ridgeline, etc……
I am asking for your answer because; I have an idea that they are all going to be similar?
In all the years I have been calling coyotes; I have usually looked for and tried to call from an elevated location. By this I mean, I usually walk over the top of a ridge, down the slope a ways to get below the ridgeline, so that I am not silhouetted while sitting. Still it is on a hillside; whether steep or sloping, or a knob top. But it seems that it is always far up the slope from the flat bottom land, or valley floor.
Of all the years of calling, I have learned by walking ridges and hills; that rabbit don’t inhabit those ridges, hillsides, steep or sloping, for a reason!
That reason is: rabbits only inhabit flat areas, or genteelly sloped areas, because rabbits depend on his running speed to elude and survive a predator attack.
It is only logical to think that; if the rabbit was living on the hillside, he couldn’t use his burst of speed to get away; yeah he could utilize the down slope to make his or her getaway (but I don’t think a rabbit has that kind of logical thinking power), but not so much for going uphill; due to the angle of the hill will not allow him to hit mach speed to make a successful getaway. Therefore: It is my belief that coyote’s know that there are no rabbits living on a steep hillsides.
I am sure you have as I have; sat on steep hillsides above a sage flat, started squalling on a rabbit predator call, all of a sudden the flat below your position has literally come alive with movement, you focus your attention on the movement, and you realize that you were watching rabbits moving around. From your perch above the flats, you can see long rabbit ears, rabbit body parts, and movement of the local rabbit population. But! It was always on the flats, sagebrush, or grass flats, brushy dry creek banks, and in the bottoms of draws, never up on the hills slopes or ridges.
If you have ever hunted cottontail rabbits, how many CT’s have you found and shot on a hillside, and have found all of them on the sage and brush flats, and creek bottoms chocked with brush.
Therefore, with all that thinking, I surmise, that getting your self down slope farther, like on the edge of the sagebrush flat, making your stand on the foot of the hill, or find a small rise, just high enough to see over the sagebrush or tall grass, then you can begin your stand with your rabbit call.
This method will put you into the territory that the coyote would hunt or find the prey that they hunt. Giving you a more realistic stand; within the area that the coyote would expect to hear a dying rabbit blues coming from. Because the coyote knows where they are finding and hunting rabbits, and if they think their pray is being killed in his hunting area, he is going to come in to take a look, expecting to kick some butt!
Give it a try! Then come back and let us hear your success in using this method.
Good Hunting
Gary
