Missouri hunters shot 15,238 deer during the 11-day muzzleloader season that ended Tuesday............That was the second-highest total in the history of the hunt, which started in 1988........... It trailed only the 2009 total of 15,907.......This huge hunter take of deer comes with the Coyote population stable or growing in the "Show Me" State.........I communicated with Missouri Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Jeff Beringer and he was good enough to provide us with a link that shows the history of all furbearer kills in the State(including Coyotes)........While hunter take is not an exact way to count the population of a particular animal, trendlines do give you some idea as to a growing or shrinking population.............While it is horrible to state it in these terms, the good news is that the annual take of Coyotes in Missouri over the past decade has been betweeen 2500 and 4000 animals, with 2011 recording just over 4000 animals taken.........Seems that you can have Coyotes, Bobcats, Bears(and i believe Pumas and Wolves) and still have a sound deer population(see attached link below for some good reading)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jeff Beringer <Jeff.Beringer@mdc.mo.gov>
Date: Wed, Jan 4, 2012 at 5:42 AM
Subject: RE: Topic: Hunting and Wildlife
To: Rick Meril <rick.meril@gmail.com>

Here is the link to our annual report, it will have the coyote info I tried to send, take care, Jeff.

http://mdc.mo.gov/sites/default/files/resources/2012/01/fy11furbearerreport.pdf

Thanks for your inquiry regarding coyote populations in Missouri.  We do not have a definitive population estimate for coyotes in MO.  Coyote populations are dynamic and can change markedly in local areas depending on abundance of prey, and disease outbreaks.  Our trend information suggests that coyote populations are stable to increasing on a statewide basis, I have attached this information.  I cannot give you a statewide population estimate, perhaps you could guess at 1 coyote per square mile of undeveloped land in the state.

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Missouri hunters shot 15,238 deer during the 11-day muzzleloader season that ended Tuesday.That was the second-highest total in the history of the hunt, which started in 1988. It trailed only the 2009 total of 15,907.Oregon was the leading county with 314 deer checked in. Franklin was second with 285 and Callaway third with 281.

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From: Rick Meril
Date: Tue, Jan 3, 2012 at 9:54 PM
Subject: Re: Topic: Hunting and Wildlife
To: Jeff Beringer


jeff...............thanks for responding..................the 1 coyote per sq mile is a reasonable estimate...............where enough open space exists...............................Happy New Year to you.

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On Tue, Jan 3, 2012 at 8:19 AM, Jeff Beringer wrote:

Hey Rick:

Thanks for your inquiry regarding coyote populations in Missouri. We do not have a definitive population estimate for coyotes in MO. Coyote populations are dynamic and can change markedly in local areas depending on abundance of prey, and disease outbreaks. Our trend information suggests that coyote populations are stable to increasing on a statewide basis, I have attached this information. I cannot give you a statewide population estimate, perhaps you could guess at 1 coyote per square mile of undeveloped land in the state.