Гибель животных на дорогах

Animals that have died due to vehicular incursions

Roadkill is a wild animal that have been killed by collision with motor vehicles. Wildlife vehicle collisions (WVC) have increasingly been the topic of academic research to understand the causes, and how they can be mitigated.

Essentially non existent before the advent of mechanized transport, roadkill is associated with increasing automobile speed in the early 20th century. In 1920, naturalist Joseph Grinnell wrote of his observations in the state of California that "this is a relatively new source of fatality; and if one were to estimate the entire mileage of such roads in the state, the mortality must mount into the hundreds and perhaps thousands every 24 hours." In Europe and North America, deer are the animal most likely to cause vehicle damage. In Australia, specific actions taken to protect against the variety of animals that can damage vehicles – such as bullbars (usually known in Australia as 'roo bars', in reference to kangaroos) – indicate the Australian experience has some unique features with road kill.

The development of roads affects wildlife by altering and isolating habitat and populations, deterring the movement of wildlife, and resulting in extensive wildlife mortality. One writer states that "our insulated industrialized culture keeps us disconnected from life beyond our windshields."

Very large numbers of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates are killed on the world's roads every day. The number of animals killed in the United States has been estimated at a million per day. The estimated number of birds killed on the roads in different European countries ranges from 350,000 to 27 million, depending on the factors such as the geography of the country and bird migration paths.

Mortality resulting from roadkill can be very significant for species with small populations. Roadkill is estimated to be responsible for 50% of deaths of Florida panthers, and is the largest cause of badger deaths in England. Roadkill is considered to significantly contribute to the population decline of many threatened species, including wolf, koala and eastern quoll. In Tasmania, Australia the most common species affected by roadkill are brushtail possums and Tasmanian pademelons. In 1993, 25 schools throughout New England, United States participated in a roadkill study involving 1,923 animal deaths. By category, the fatalities were: 81% mammals, 15% bird, 3% reptiles and amphibians, 1% indiscernible. Extrapolating these data nationwide, Merritt Clifton (editor of Animal People Newspaper) estimated that the following animals are being killed by motor vehicles in the United States annually: 41 million squirrels, 26 million cats, 22 million rats, 19 million opossums, 15 million raccoons, 6 million dogs, and 350,000 deer. This study may not have considered differences in observability between taxa (e. g. dead raccoons are easier to see than dead frogs), and has not been published in peer reviewed scientific literature. Observability, amongst other factors. may be the cause for mammal species to dominate roadkill reports, whereas bird and amphibian mortality are likely underestimated. In the United States, over 1 million vertebrate animals are killed by vehicle collisions every day. Globally, the number amounts to roughly 5.5 million killed per day, which when extrapolated climbs to over 2 billion annually. A year long study in northern India in an agricultural landscape covering only 20 km of road identified 133 road kills of 33 species comprising amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. The study compared road killed animals with all species seen along the road and estimated that traffic killed individuals of 30% of amphibian species, 25% of reptile species, 16% of birds, and 27% of mammals that were seen in the area.

A 2007 study showed that insects, too, are prone to a very high risk of roadkill incidence. Research showed interesting patterns in insect roadkills in relation to the vehicle density. The decrease in insects being killed by cars is known as the "windshield phenomenon". 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. Almost 40,000 drivers took part, and the results found one squashed insect for every 5 mile (8 km) driven. This contrasts with 30 years ago when cars were covered more completely with insects, supporting the idea that insect numbers had waned. In 2011, Dutch biologist Arnold van Vliet coordinated a similar study of insect deaths on car license plates. He found two insects killed on the license plate area for every driven. This implies about 1.6 trillion insect deaths by cars per year in the Netherlands, and about 32.5 trillion deaths in the United States if the figures are extrapolated there. The number grows to 228 trillion per year if extended globally. 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. However, such scavengers are at greater risk of becoming roadkill themselves, and are subject to evolutionary pressure to be alert to traffic hazards. In contrast, areas where scavengers have been driven out (such as many urban areas) often see roadkill rotting in place indefinitely on the roadways and being further macerated by traffic. The remains must be manually removed by dedicated disposal personnel and disposed of via sanitary cremation; this greatly increases the public nuisance inherent to roadkill, unnecessarily complicates its disposal, and consumes additional public money, time and fuel that could be spent on other roadway maintenance projects.

The study of roadkill has proven highly amenable to the application of citizen science observation methods. Since 2009, statewide roadkill observation systems have been started in the US, enrolling hundreds of observers in reporting roadkill on a website. The observers, who are usually naturalists or professional scientists, provide identification, location, and other information about the observations. The data are then displayed on a website for easy visualization and made available for studies of proximate causes of roadkill, actual wildlife distributions, wildlife movement, and other studies. Roadkill observation system websites are available for the US states of California, Maine, and Idaho. In each case, index roads are used to help quantify total impact of vehicle collisions on specific vertebrate taxa. Researchers that use data from citizen science platforms may benefit from a large pool of data, specially for iconic, well known conspicuous species. Care must be taken when analyzing data for species that are not easy to identify, as studies have showed that misidentification is not uncommon amongst these platforms. Since then it has gathered data on its website, and on several social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter. In India, the project "Provide Animals Safe Transit on Highways" (PATH) was initiated by the Environment Conservation Group in 2015, to study the impact of roads on Indian wildlife. A team of five wildlife conservationists led by Mr. 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. It is also gathering data on its website, and social media platforms. More focused scientific studies on impacts of traffic on animals have been conducted across India especially in the Western Ghats of south India documenting a large number of species of insects, other arthropods, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals killed. Another study conducted on 420 km of roads located along cultivated fields in Punjab showed granivorous birds to be killed far more than their availability, likely attracted to spilled grain on the roads. In the Czech Republic, an online animal vehicle crash reporting system Srazenazver. cz is gathering both professional (Police, road maintenance) and volunteered data on roadkill and wildlife vehicle crashes. The application allows users to input, edit and browse data. The data is visualized in the form of maps, graphs or tables and analyzed online (KDE+ hotspots identification, area statistics). In Australia, wombat roadkill data is collected by the citizen science project, WomSAT.

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. BCMoT's "Wildlife Roadkill Identification Guide" focused on the most common large carnivores and ungulates found in British Columbia. The guide was developed to assist BCMoT's maintenance contractors in identifying wildlife carcasses found on provincial highways as part of their responsibilities for BCMoT's Wildlife Accident Reporting System (WARS).

In the US, an estimated 1.25 million insurance claims are filed annually due to collisions with deer, elk, or moose, amounting to 1 out of 169 collision damage claims. Collisions with large animals with antlers (such as deer) are particularly dangerous, but any large, long legged animal (e. g. horses, larger cattle, camels) can pose a similar cabin incursion hazard. 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. Drivers who see a deer near or in the roadway should be aware that it is very likely that other members of a herd are nearby. Acoustic warning deer horns can be mounted on vehicles to warn deer of approaching automobiles, though their effectiveness is disputed. Ultrasonic wind driven whistles are often promoted as a cheap, simple way to reduce the chance of wildlife vehicle collisions. In one study, the sound pressure level of the whistle was 3 dB above the sound pressure level of the test vehicle, but caused no observable difference in behavior of animals when the whistles were activated and not activated, casting doubt on their effectiveness. In Australia, kangaroos are the most common species hit and killed by vehicles, causing significant damage and even fatalities. Another large species hit and killed by vehicles are wombats. Sightings of wombat roadkill can be logged at WomSAT to help support the implementation of mitigation strategies to reduce wombat deaths. Such evasive maneuvers are often unproductive, since small rodents and birds are much more agile and quick to react than motorists in heavy vehicles. There is very little a driver can do to avoid an unpredictably darting squirrel or rabbit, or even to intentionally hit one. 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. Night time drivers should reduce speed and use high beam headlights when possible to give themselves maximum time to avoid a collision.

Wildlife crossings allow animals to travel over or underneath roads. They are most widely used in Europe, but have also been installed in a few US locations and in parts of Western Canada. As new highways cause habitats to become increasingly fragmented, these crossings can play an important role in protecting endangered species. In the US, sections of road known to have heavy deer cross traffic will usually have warning signs depicting a bounding deer; similar signs exist for moose, elk, and other species. In the American West, roads may pass through large areas designated as "open range", meaning no fences separate drivers from large animals such as cattle or bison. A driver may round a bend to find a small herd standing in the road. Open range areas are generally marked with signage and protected by a cattle guard. 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. One of these systems is called the Roadway Animal Detection System (RADS). 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. The sensor's detection distance ranges from to unlimited, depending on the terrain.

The removal of trees associated with road construction produces a gap in the forest canopy that forces arboreal (tree dwelling) species to come to the ground to travel across the gap. Canopy crossings have been constructed for red squirrels in Great Britain, colobus monkeys in Kenya, and ringtail possums in Far North Queensland, Australia. The crossings have two purposes: to ensure that roads do not restrict movement of animals and also to reduce roadkill. Installation of the canopy crossings may be relatively quick and cheap.

Banks, cuttings and fences that trap animals on the road are associated with roadkill. In order to increase the likelihood of escape from a main roadway, escape routes have been constructed on the access roads. Escape routes may be considered as one of the most useful measures, especially when new roads are being built or roads are being upgraded, widened or sealed. Research may be undertaken into the efficacy of escape routes by observation of animals’ response to vehicles in places with natural escape routes and barriers, rather than trialing purpose built escape routes.

In the New Forest, in southern England, there is a proposal to fence roads to protect the New Forest pony. However, this proposal is controversial.

Removing animal carcasses from roadways is considered essential to public safety. New York State has a process to report dead wildlife to the Department of Environmental Conservation; they are especially interested in marked/tagged wildlife and endangered or threatened species. If an animal is found along a major highway, depending on who has jurisdiction for maintaining the highway, the request may be directed to the city, the provincial Ministry of Transportation, or a highway operations centre. In Ontario, citizens may keep possession of roadkill in many circumstances, but may have to register their find.

If fresh enough, roadkill can be eaten, and there are several recipe books dedicated to roadkill. The practice of eating animals killed on the road is usually derided, and most people consider it not to be safe, Nevertheless, in some cultures there is tradition of using fresh roadkill as a nutritious and economical source of meat similar to that obtained by hunting.

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. The American band Phish frequently plays the song "Possum", originally from the album The Man Who Stepped into Yesterday at its concerts. The song describes an encounter with a roadkilled opossum and includes the lyric, "Your end is the road". The Horse Flies, an American alt rock/folk band from Ithaca, NY, released an upbeat homage to vehicularly mediated food security titled "Roadkill" on their 1991 album, "Gravity Dance" exhorting the listener to "Eat what you kill."

Roadkill is sometimes used as an art form. Several artists use traditional taxidermy preparation in their works whilst others explore different artforms. International artist Claudia Terstappen photographs roadkill and produces enormous prints which see the animals floating eerily in a void. American artist Gary Michael Keyes photographs and transforms them into "RoadKill Totems" in his "Resurrection Gallery". American artist Stephen Paternite has been exhibiting roadkill pieces since the 1970s.

In a 2013 essay, American anthropologist Jane Desmond examined at length the failure of American culture and public discourse to adequately confront the ubiquity of roadkill. She concluded: "The simplest answer is that these animal lives have little value for most of the populations in the United States, as these animals are unowned, lacking in monetary or emotional value, not pets or livestock, and without the charismatic following that megafauna like elephants and lions in zoos receive. 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."

There are driving video games where players can run over animals, such as the arcade version of Cruis'n USA, as well as video games where players control an animal that crosses roads to avoid becoming roadkill, such as Frogger and Crossy Road.