Just got back from a road trip to the midwest. I was surprised to see the number of coyote carcasses laying along Interstate 70 through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Kansas. Around here it's rare to see a coyote hit on any road let alone an interstate highway. Curious if it has to do with the time of year due to breeding season? Population density? Night hunters tossing them out on the way home?

Population density.

Nobody is stopping on interstate and tossing out coyotes...lol

Those flat land areas have a lot of coyotes. Once you get past chilcothe here in ohio, you see a lot of coyotes. Not so much where im at on US 35 just before you get to the ohio river

It's all about keeping their stomachs full.

When I did a coyote study for the DNR we collared 44 coyotes. In looking over the tracking studies we found those coyotes spent lots of time along the major roadways. They were feeding on roadkill. Only 4 ended up as road kills.

Here I will see coyotes hit on the highway year round, but majority will be February and March

There is a secret society that haunts our highway infrastructure leaving dead animals in their wake. They are called the motorists.

saw more coyote hit on the road when I was in Texas than coons! plenty of armadillo too when you get south

When coyotes appeared in indiana. Through all the speculation it was determined that they migrated east mostly by way of the grassy interstate highways.

Some of my best Coyote locations are adjacent to the Interstate.

Highway road killed deer are a huge attraction for coyotes. They know where the groceries are.
Jim