Road kill
About ten million native animals (including birds and reptiles) are killed in Australia each year through being struck by vehicles. The reason for this is very simple. These animals have evolved over the millennia in an environment without motor vehicles. Cars move much faster than their natural predators and have loud engines and bright lights. Very confusing for wild animals. Electric cars are silent and can ‘sneak up’ on wildlife. Many animals do not have the inherent ability to avoid being hit, even though most of them have strategies for avoiding natural dangers.
Sometimes it is these natural instincts putting the animal in danger. For example, when feeling vulnerable galahs start to fly very erratically to confuse predators and will frequently dart in front of vehicles. It is quite common for several galahs to be hit at once. Galah strikes become more common during harvest times when the galahs congregate along the roadsides, eating spilt grain.
Most animals are on the road because they need to cross them. An animal requires a territory large enough to support it. If it is bisected by a road, the animal will need to cross that road to access the rest of its territory.
Reptiles will bask on roads and will be sluggish until they warm up, making them very vulnerable. Other animals are on the road scavenging roadkill. A notable example of this was a dead rabbit in the middle of the road on the Colbinabbin hill. Beside it was a dead crow, beside the crow a dead cat and finally a dead fox! Wedgetail eagles are particularly vulnerable because they are slow to take off (they need to take several ungainly steps before they can fly).
Many animals will simply try to dash across the road even faster should a car be coming; a natural response to danger. This is a major cause of kangaroos, wallabies and wombats being hit by vehicles. Slow-moving animals such as turtles and echidnas just cannot move off the road in time.
It is unrealistic to expect animals to change their instinctual behaviours. To stop the roadkill carnage we need to change.
Around Rushworth it is better to avoid driving around dusk and dawn when the kangaroos are on the move. Rushworth is surrounded by forest. There is no way to avoid driving through kangaroo country. If you do need to drive at night, have a good set of driving lights (a mixed pair, one broad beam and one pencil beam works well), slow down to 80 kmh or less, set cruise control and have a foot hovering over the brake pedal. Don’t relax once you are in town; kangaroos come in to graze on lawns and to drink. Some people swear by those silent kangaroo whistles mounted on the fronts of cars. It has been proven that they have no effect what-so-ever.
It is illegal to swerve to avoid hitting wildlife. It is better to slow down or brake in a controlled manner if it is safe to do so.
In some places wildlife crossings have been created. These may be mini suspension bridges over freeways for possums and quolls or tunnels under busy roads. In many places specific roadside warning signs warn drivers that they are entering a high-risk area. Unfortunately, these signs are often ignored and sometimes used for target practice by shooters.
Most animals hit by motor vehicles will die either from their injuries or from shock. If an animal is injured it is better to contact a wildlife rescue service rather than just leaving it to suffer a slow death. These wonderful people are experts who know how to deal with injured wildlife. Never approach an injured kangaroo. They can be quite dangerous. If a kangaroo is dead, check its pouch and contact a rescue service if there is a joey. Dead roadside kangaroos sprayed with an “X” have had their pouches checked.
We live in a beautiful area with lovely treed roadside verges which are wonderful wildlife habitats….providing we take a little care with our driving.
