Snowshoe Hares

It’s that time of year when I prefer to be in the woods, walking and kicking up brush looking for those tasty white bunnies. It is some kind of feeling when you spot one motionless under a spruce bough. But lately (2-3 years now) I’ve seen fewer and fewer of these beautiful creatures. I know they’re cyclical, but I have no clue where we are on the cycle.
I figure everywhere is different anyways.

I’m use to walking river/creek edges and swamp edges with good cover for them, but I’m not seeing the usual sign. Just recently I was walking a young spruce stand (no higher than my knees) and there was all kinds of tracks and scat. No actual hares though. It’s got me confused because I didn’t see the usual browse selection (dogwood, hazel, alder, etc).

I’m curious, what’s everyone else’s observations? Where do you find success?

For reference I do travel a ways to try different areas. From wmu 42 down to 60 and across to 82a.

The cycle is 7 years I do believe, around our camp in Eastern Ontario they are not at the bottom of a cycle that is for sure, but I have not been able to get out to actually hunt them, just saw them during the deer hunt and shot one with the swede from the stand one night.

Don't travel that far north but this past fall would say have seen a few more (let me stress few) this year than in the past. Maybe on a slight up tick but not alot in my opinion.

Where I hunt it seems like the numbers have never bounced back and its been 10 years hunting this public bush. The only difference is we never saw yote tracks and for the last 4 years now we do. Also habitat has changed, tress got taller. Ive notice they like the young cedar bushes that are now over grown.

I’ve seen enough on my property lots of tracks after fresh snow. But I’m over run by feral cats think cats are picking off a few
Not sure if you can shoot cats ?

Was up in Muskoka the last couple week ends and they plentiful.
we got 4 one morning and five couple days later

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Originally Posted by Fox

The cycle is 7 years I do believe, around our camp in Eastern Ontario they are not at the bottom of a cycle that is for sure, but I have not been able to get out to actually hunt them, just saw them during the deer hunt and shot one with the swede from the stand one night.

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I watched a David Sazuki show a few nights ago on lynx and snowshoes hair and they said it was 10 year cycle, but I always heard 7 before.

But all the time I hunted them, 20 years with beagles I have never noticed a big uptick in their numbers for any year.

In relation to the OP up my way in 60 I always see a few tracks but the coyote numbers keep them down.

The coyote numbers are high where we hunt and that's probably why the hare numbers are also high lots for the coyote's to feed on

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Originally Posted by js4fn

I’ve seen enough on my property lots of tracks after fresh snow. But I’m over run by feral cats think cats are picking off a few
Not sure if you can shoot cats ?

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Feral cats are not a "kept" animal. They can be legally rid from the world.

Used to spend lots of time chasing snowshoes but as many have mentioned the population plummeted years back and has not made any real comeback. We stopped hunting them in hopes of saving a few to further the population. All that said, my parcel is loaded with the critters and I find myself in a bit of a conundrum, do I capitalize and enjoy hunting them or leave them to breed and hopefully spread.

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Oaknut it doesn't matter if they breed or not there cycle will determine how plentiful they are.
As I mentioned earlier there seems to be a lot in our area also this year and we hunted them hard for the last 15 years up in Muskoka

I was out on Sunday in wmu 60. Walked a good deal through the bush. Saw some tracks, no hares. I did see a couple grouse, an owl and a good amount of pine grosbeak. Might give it a go up north in a week or so.

Since I've cleaned up all the yotes I've noticed more. But they seem to be mostly nocturnal on my cameras.

Hard to find them without a dog.

cant speak to snowshoes as i dont see alot down here these days but cottontails ive shot a couple so far this year.
tasty buggers

[Since I've cleaned up all the yotes I've noticed more.


A proof known to many open minded hunters-that predator control is needed.

See the other thread about non financial incentive for predator control.
Thank You Bushwacker

I've given up on trying to predict cycles. 2 years ago my main hare spot had decent numbers, but last winter it was totally devoid of sign. Yet I went in there last weekend and sign was again plentiful. It also doesn't take a lot of hares to make a lot of sign.

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Originally Posted by Articcat

Oaknut it doesn't matter if they breed or not there cycle will determine how plentiful they are.
As I mentioned earlier there seems to be a lot in our area also this year and we hunted them hard for the last 15 years up in Muskoka

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I can believe in a cyclical population up to a certain point. However, if 90% of the hoppers are removed by predation or hunting over the course of a winter, year after year, the population will still remain low. If only 30% of the population is removed the population will grow and spread. It's not as if every 7 years there is a mass die off, the cyclical idea was brought up by the predator prey relationship and how fast predator colonies rise and fall when prey is abundant or lacking.

Judging by the skeletal remains scattered about my property I'm assuming the wolves tend to favor killing the winter deer herd rather than chasing down all the rabbits like they do in areas without a winter deer population.

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