Cottontails have pretty much disappeared around here. Not seeing them along the highway or anywhere while driving. Anyone else notice a decline?

Frogs are gone too.

Quail too.

No shortage of frogs or toads here.

No decline in cotton tails or frogs in my area.

Decline in hogs, which is good.

My guess is owls. Right now i have so many rabbits, little ones, grown ones. Then I have a Great Horned Owl will show up and all gone. Thats how they work, feed on em and then let em breed and back again.

Fire ants

Rabbit litter numbers dramatically drop during years of prolific predator numbers. Nature's way of starving out the predators and keeping things balanced. The litter numbers will go back up after the predators have had their run.

I would say a decline in those is a good thing.

My red ants have figured out a way to win and the fire ant numbers are down to almost zero here. Red ant mounds all over my ranch and I'm happy to see them.

Need some Horned Toads then

I'm content with the red ants. The armadillos have also figured out how to dig into a fire ant mound and eat everything in it.

I still see them from time to time here in Joshua. Thankfully, not dead on the road, but usually in my yard. Frogs I hear at night...I assume they are calling from one of the two ponds across the street. No red ants around here in 40 years, but a boatload of fire ants pop up after the rains...Any of y'all wanna come collect them and take them to your yard?

My dogs miss the chase, they check the pipe daily even though I haven't seen a rabbit in a year

There seems to be a shortage of cougers too...and I've searched extensively.

Highly Contagious Virus is Killing Wild Rabbits in West Texas
TEXAS PARKS and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has received test results confirming that Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease (RHD) was diagnosed in a wild black-tailed jackrabbit in Lubbock County and a wild cottontail rabbit in Hudspeth County.

This marks the first confirmed cases of RHD in wild rabbits in Texas and follows the discovery of the disease in domestic rabbits in Hockley County. Since March 23, detections of the disease in both wild and domestic rabbits have occurred in New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and Mexico.

There have been reports of mortality events both in wild cottontails (genus Sylvilagus) and jackrabbits (genus Lepus) in El Paso, Hudspeth, Brewster, Terrell, Lubbock and Pecos Counties in Texas.

Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease (RHD) is a highly contagious viral disease that can affect both domestic and wild rabbit species. This disease is nearly always fatal and primarily affects adult rabbits.

credit : Texas Fish and Game

In summer time at day break I walk and hour and usually count around 60 rabbits per trip.

I put out about 6 carrots per night and feed the locals one in my neighborhood, as of last few months they seem to be thin population

This summer during day I would have about 6 of them laying in the shade under my back yard.

Between the bobcats, coyotes, hawks and cars they get taken out in my area, hopefully with the return of grass and breeding seasons there number will increase, but I too have noticed a decline of rabbits, and my area is usually full of them.

The fields on the flight line at Carswell AFB used to be full of jack rabbits.

You need bait for those, green colored paper attracts them.

Not bothering the rabbits around here. I have plenty of both. I feed them leftover vegetables. I have found they love cilantro. I remember when there were lots of rabbits in the hill country. I also remember when there were not many coyotes. The coyotes have pretty much wiped out the rabbits in NW Burnet County. I wish they were as efficient at catching squirrels.

Around here it is nature’s cycle of Predator vs Prey.

Normally we have a lot of Cottontails in the neighborhood, especially around the creek behind us. Right now there are fewer rabbits because a couple of Coyotes have taken up temporary residence in the creek, once they have reduced the rabbit population we will not see them again for a while.

Yesterday morning with the mutt (Luke) off leash in the creek, he saw this Coyote and took off after it, the Yote hauled azz and fortunately Luke stopped when I yelled at him to sit.
As we were heading back to the house the Yote decided to follow us at a safe distance.

Crazy thing after I put the mutt up, I went out back to throw some trash away and there it was about 60 yards away rolling around in the grass with a Tennis ball in its mouth, it boogied when it saw me approaching.

Feral cats also put a big dent in rabbit populations

Pew Pew! Bang!

jack rabbits and bull frogs left our are about 30 years ago. hardly ever see them anymore

Don't see many jack rabbits or cottontails lately in West Tecas.