Where Have All The Rabbits Gone?

Jackrabbits in Yellowstone National Park,that is:

NEW YORK, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- The U.S. Wildlife Conservation Society is trying to figure out why jack rabbits have vanished from Yellowstone National Park.

The report, published in the journal Oryx, said there have been no confirmed jack rabbit sightings in Yellowstone since 1991 and only three in Grand Teton National Park since 1978.

Historical records indicate that white-tailed jack rabbits were once abundant in Greater Yellowstone, a 23,166-square-mile ecosystem that contains the Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks, the group said Thursday in a release.


This inspires me to song (apologies to Pete Seeger):

Where have all the flowers gone, long time passing?
Where have all the flowers gone, long time ago?
Where have all the flowers gone?
Rabbits ate 'em, every one.
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the rabbits gone, long time passing?
Where have all the rabbits gone, long time ago?
Where have all the rabbits gone?
Coyotes got 'em, every one.
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have the coyotes gone, long time passing?
Where have the coyotes gone, long time ago?
Where have the coyotes gone?
Starved in meadows every one.
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the meadows gone, long time passing?
Where have all the meadows gone, long time ago?
Where have all the meadows gone?
Gone to flowers every one.
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?


Of course, there's a more chilling thought: Yellowstone is supposed to be a "supervolcano" that, if it erupts, would wipe out life in much of the western US; maybe the rabbits are the "canaries in the coal mine" on this? Nah; doesn't explain why they left Grand Teton.