Roadkill
[11] A Humane Society volunteer survey conducted over three Memorial Day weekends in the 1960s estimated that one million vertebrate animals are killed by vehicular traffic daily in the United States.
[12][13][14] A 2008 Federal Highway Administration report estimates that 1 to 2 million accidents occur each year between large animals and vehicles.
Extrapolating globally based on total length of roads, roughly 5.5 million vertebrates are killed per day, or over 2 billion annually.
Roadkill is considered to significantly contribute to the population decline of many threatened species, including wolf, koala and eastern quoll.
In 2003–2004, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds investigated anecdotal reports of declining insect populations in the UK by asking drivers to affix a postcard-sized PVC rectangle, called a "splatometer", to the front of their cars.
[25] In 2011, Dutch biologist Arnold van Vliet coordinated a similar study of insect deaths on car license plates.
[15] One rarely considered positive aspect of roadkill is the regular availability of carrion it provides for scavenger species such as vultures, crows, ravens, foxes, opossums and a wide variety of carnivorous insects.
[27] In particularly roadkill-prone areas, scavenging birds rely on roadkill for much of their daily nutritional requirements, and can even be seen observing the roadway from telephone poles, overhead wires and trees, waiting for animals, usually squirrels, opossums and raccoons to be struck so they can swoop down and feed.
[citation needed] The study of roadkill has proven highly amenable to the application of citizen science observation methods.
[33] In India, the project "Provide Animals Safe Transit on Highways" (PATH) was initiated by the Environment Conservation Group[34] in 2015, to study the impact of roads on Indian wildlife.
[35] A team of five wildlife conservationists led by R. Mohammed Saleem had undertaken a forty-four-day expedition, traveling more than 17,000 kilometers across 22 states to study and spread awareness on roadkill.
[45][46][47] The first wildlife roadkill identification guide produced by a state agency in North America was published by the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation (BCMoT) in Canada in 2008.
[48] BCMoT's "Wildlife Roadkill Identification Guide" focused on the most common large carnivores and ungulates found in British Columbia.
Primary methods focus on changing driver attitude by increasing public awareness and helping people understand that reducing roadkill will benefit their community.
Second are methods of discouraging wildlife from crossing roads, at least when cars are present, using equipment such as ultrasonic whistles, reflectors, and fencing.
[53] Injury to humans due to driver failure to maintain control of a vehicle either while avoiding, or during and immediately after an animal impact, is also common.
[54][55] The recommended reaction to a large animal (such as a moose) is to slow down in lane, if at all possible, and to avoid swerving suddenly, which could cause loss of control.
[62][63][64][65] Such evasive maneuvers are often unproductive, since small rodents and birds are much more agile and quicker to react than motorists in heavy vehicles.
The suggested course of action is to continue driving in a predictable, safe manner, and let the small animal decide on the spur of the moment which way to run or fly; the majority of vehicular encounters end with no harm to either party.
[53][66][67] Although strikes can happen at any time of day, deer tend to move at dusk and dawn, and are particularly active during the October–December mating season as well as late March and early April in the Northern Hemisphere.
Penguins, for example, are common roadkill traffic victims in Wellington, New Zealand due to their color and the fact that they come ashore at dusk and leave again around dawn.
In an attempt to mitigate US$1.2 billion in animal-related vehicular damage, a few US states now have sophisticated systems to protect motorists from large animals.
[70][71] A solar powered sensor can detect large animals such as deer, bear, elk, and moose near the roadway, and thereafter flash a light to alert oncoming drivers.
Canopy crossings have been constructed for red squirrels in Great Britain, colobus monkeys in Kenya, and ringtail possums in Far North Queensland, Australia.
Songwriter and performer Loudon Wainwright III released his deadpan humorous song, "Dead Skunk (in the Middle of the Road)" in 1972, and it peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100.
[84] The American band Phish frequently[85] plays the song "Possum", originally from the album The Man Who Stepped into Yesterday at its concerts.
The Horse Flies, an American alt rock/folk band from Ithaca, NY, released an upbeat homage to vehicularly-mediated food security titled "Roadkil"[86] on their 1991 album, "Gravity Dance" exhorting the listener to "Eat what you kill".
International artist Claudia Terstappen photographs roadkill[87] and produces enormous prints which see the animals floating eerily in a void.
[90] Canadian writer Timothy Findley wrote about the experience of seeing killed animals on highways during travels: "The dead by the road, or on it, testify to the presence of man.
This calculus of devaluation clears the way for such carnage to be ignored in public discourse and legal venues, to be out of mind while insistently in sight.
