Spring has come to melt away the snow and ice, and for the white-tailed jackrabbits of the Airdrie area, it also means breeding season is starting.

 The white-tailed jackrabbit is a common creature in Alberta prairies, and are the prey for common prairie predators. However, they can become an issue if the population numbers rise too much.

Rabbits are by nature herbivores, meaning they eat vegetation. They are also extremely fast-breeding creatures. These two traits of the jackrabbit become an issue when there are large numbers of them.

Jeff Hughes, Natural Park Land technician with Airdrie Parks, remembers the jackrabbit population becoming an issue during last year's spring and summer seasons.

"Last year, we noticed a high population. This spring, they're around of course. In some areas, the winter seems to have lowered the population a little bit, but of course, they do breed throughout the spring and summer."

With high population numbers, damage to lawns, plants and parks can happen due to the rabbit's grazing and general snacking.

"They can be. They can cause problems with young trees. It's certainly an issue with them. In the city, in parks, we often use a protective around the tree such as wire mesh or there are products that are available at local hardware stores that you can put around your young trees to prevent the rabbits from chewing on them."

The city does not control the population in any way, meaning no trapping and no poisoning of the rabbits. Instead, they depend on the rabbit's natural predators to keep the population where it should be.

"The rabbits are prey of the coyotes, but I don't think we can make a direct link from the coyotes in town and issues that were earlier in the year. Of course, the coyotes the do help keep the population of the rabbits down as well as other (predators) like raptors, hawks and owls."

"Generally, that's are the main (population control) of those animals. The city ourselves, we do not control the population of rabbits in the city. We do monitor areas, but at this point, we don't control the population ourselves."

Unfornutely, the rabbits also have a chance to be struck and killed by a vehicle, leaving quite the mess. Hughes said the city will clean up the mess.

"We do see a number of dead rabbits on the roads struck by vehicles. It does happen out there for sure," confirmed Hughes. "If there is one on a roadway, we will go and clean it up. Absolutely."

 

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