Missouri’s wild game animals reacted differently to this year’s drought.The deer population is lower, but wild turkeys are thriving.
The drought led to an increase in hemorrhagic disease among Missouri’s deer.
The Missouri Department of Conservation, or MDC, estimates at least 5800 cases through Friday.
The drought also hurt acorn production, a favorite food for deer. And of course, water is more scarce.
All that means there are fewer deer this year.
Russell Duckworth is a protection district supervision for the MDC. He says most hunters probably won’t notice.
“I would not be surprised if many hunters see more deer because last year we had lots of food available to them with a large acorn crop,” Duckworth said. “So therefore the deer did not have to travel as far or as much to get to a food source.”
Turkeys, on the other hand, are doing well, according to Duckworth. He says late spring and early summer rains often kill turkey hatchlings.
“The lack of late spring rain this year has really got our turkey population doing really well at this point. Fall turkey hunters, I think, are seeing more turkeys than they typically do,” Duckworth said.
Duckworth adds that turkeys are less adaptive to different food sources than deer. Once the thin acorn crop is consumed this winter, he warns turkey numbers could decline.