Dead animals on road poses risks for drivers

By Megan Voss

Spring is the season of refreshment, renewal and – roadkill.

As the weather warms up, animals are coming out of hibernation. Many of them go onto the road and are hit by oncoming traffic, resulting in their own death. There are also injuries to humans and damage to their cars. Roadkill even poses a problem for a few already endangered animal populations.

Sgt. Ron Abrams, an OPP officer for Prince Edward County, said that the spring and fall are the worst times for roadkill.

“Last year, we probably had several weeks where we had two to three collisions a day out in the county,” he said.

If there is a positive side to roadkill, it’s the lifecycle for animals. Shannon Simpkins, of Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, gave an example of a raccoon that is killed on the road.

“There are certain birds like turkey vultures that will come and eat that raccoon,” she said.

“There is its own ecology and its own trophic levels that is supported by roadkill.”

Simpkins also talked about a couple different species at risk – populations that are already endangered are being negatively affected by roadkill.

“Turtles are probably the biggest class of species at risk that are in danger of roadkill,” she said.

“Roadkill has a huge impact for them because a lot of them will come up and nest along the side of the road, because they can dig in the sand and lay their eggs. In some cases, the little turtles – when they hatch, are hit by the cars.

“Turtles take an insanely long time to become reproductively viable and so when a 60-year-old turtle is hit by a car, it’s kind of tragic,” she added.

“In their lifetime, after laying hundreds and hundreds of eggs, there will only be one or two offspring that will reach full adulthood, “ Simpkins said.

Snakes are another class of endangered species at risk from roadkill, Simpkins said. They already don’t have a good reputation with people, even though they’re not a threat to humans.

“They like to sunbathe on the road and consequently they are hit by cars,” she noted.

“Even though Ontario only has one native poisonous snake, people get concerned about having them. But, in reality, ultimately what they end up doing is persecuting and killing other snakes, or ruining their habitat. Poisonous snakes are not a concern for the majority of Ontario.”

Turtles and snakes may be some of the only populations at risk of extinction, and roadkill doesn’t help that, but they are not the only kinds of animals that are killed.

“Deer is an issue. Anywhere in southern Ontario you’ll also get a moose, which is even worse up north,” Abrams said.

“The deer will stand at the side of the road and then all of a sudden as you approach them, they’ll take off right across the road. They can make it across before you have time to react or stop.

“They’re heading so fast that people don’t have time to swerve, and so the deer gets hit, but doesn’t do a lot of damage.”

“Moose up north are more critical for injuries because their centre of gravity is higher above the hood. The cars go under them and so the moose comes through the windshield,” he said.

However, little animals are just as dangerous – if not more dangerous – than moose.

He says people will swerve to miss small animals, then go right into the trees, telephone poles or roll their car as a result.

“It sounds cruel, but it is so dangerous. Your natural instinct is to swerve, and of course that’s when you lose control, and other vehicles on the road are put into real danger, as well yourself and your passengers. Most of the time, you’re better off just hitting them,” he said.

“You’re doing 100 km/h and all of a sudden you turn the steering wheel, and the first turn is okay – but it’s when you try to come back is when you lose control of the vehicle.”

So, what happens after the animal dies?

Cruickshank, based out of Kingston, is a company that does roadkill removal. For the bigger animals, often they have to use special tools, such as winches, to remove the animal from the vehicle. Smaller animals are easily picked up, but there are certain guidelines the company has to follow in terms of how to dispose of them.

For the smaller animals, they do burials within the right of way – digging graves for them. The larger animals are sent to a facility that removes them.

The company also gets calls about lost pets – and although they are difficult cases to deal with, they are often able to give the pet owner peace of mind about their missing animal.