No more groundhogs ?

Took an ATV ride on Sunday afternoon through a closed & rehabilitated township landfill. The kind of place that should be teeming with groundhogs in the spring. Not one hole to be seen anywhere.

I guess I can only assume that the overpopulated coyotes have cleaned them out for good.

I do see them from time to time along the roadsides on the fringes of Peterborough, but not many in fields or pastures.

What about your area ?

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Originally Posted by 73hunter

Took an ATV ride on Sunday afternoon through a closed & rehabilitated township landfill. The kind of place that should be teeming with groundhogs in the spring. Not one hole to be seen anywhere.

I guess I can only assume that the overpopulated coyotes have cleaned them out for good.

I do see them from time to time along the roadsides on the fringes of Peterborough, but not many in fields or pastures.

What about your area ?

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These days,farmers are cultivating every square inch they can,so,Ghog dens are being ploughed under. Concentrate on scanning field edges with rock outcroppings sticking out of heavy undergrowth. Split rail fence rows are another great place to look. I like to cruise concession roads,stopping to climb into the box of the truck with binoculars. When I find promising areas,I start door knockin'. There's not as many as there used to be making it a challenge. Coyotes love them for an easy meal and so do bears.

Never had a hog on the property for 20 yrs.....then about 3 yrs ago they moved in. Now I have them right in the yard burrowing under my Range shooting shack of all places !!

https://i.imgur.com/FAR3urgm.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Wkw3qVrm.jpg

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Originally Posted by 73hunter

Took an ATV ride on Sunday afternoon through a closed & rehabilitated township landfill. The kind of place that should be teeming with groundhogs in the spring. Not one hole to be seen anywhere.

I guess I can only assume that the overpopulated coyotes have cleaned them out for good.

I do see them from time to time along the roadsides on the fringes of Peterborough, but not many in fields or pastures.

What about your area ?

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Your right about that, 30 years ago there was boat loads of groundhogs everywhere around here (durham region). Now they are pretty much gone from here. There's tons of coyotes around here now so I don't see any future for the groundhogs in this area anytime soon.

I actually have been seeing more of them than past years but not in fields. Mostly just inside bush edges and in ditches along roads where they feel safer

I see quite a few , but they are actually right in town on factory lawns and on the boulevards, watching traffic go by.

Funny you mention the return of groundhogs, hadn't seen any in probably 25 years, 2 weeks ago there was one in the back yard, where it came from and went to I don't know. One thing for sure, it wouldn't last long here.

I use to see lots in the shelburne area. It was not uncommon to see a hundred or so on a sunny Sunday drive through the country, but they’re mostly gone now. Even the private property we hunt had all kinds of dens, but they’re grown over and abandoned. I figure everyone is right about the coyotes making short work of these guys. Too bad, they’re goofy animals. It would always make us laugh to see them, somehow, perched on a fence post and probably pondering life.

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Originally Posted by Birdbuff

I use to see lots in the shelburne area. It was not uncommon to see a hundred or so on a sunny Sunday drive through the country, but they’re mostly gone now. Even the private property we hunt had all kinds of dens, but they’re grown over and abandoned. I figure everyone is right about the coyotes making short work of these guys. Too bad, they’re goofy animals. It would always make us laugh to see them, somehow, perched on a fence post and probably pondering life.

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Coyotes and farming practices have changed the whole scene for ground hogs.
Years ago , the Durham On. area was over run with ground hogs, they even had yearly ground hog shoots that attracted hunters from all over.

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Originally Posted by trimmer21

These days,farmers are cultivating every square inch they can,so,Ghog dens are being ploughed under. Concentrate on scanning field edges with rock outcroppings sticking out of heavy undergrowth. Split rail fence rows are another great place to look. I like to cruise concession roads,stopping to climb into the box of the truck with binoculars. When I find promising areas,I start door knockin'. There's not as many as there used to be making it a challenge. Coyotes love them for an easy meal and so do bears.

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Yes, I imagine they’re around if you put the effort in to look for them. My point in the post was that a hundred acres of rolling grassland would have been stuffed full of them not all that long ago. To not see any there now is disappointing.