Where Urban Wildlife Surges, Is There a Need to Rethink Roadkill?

Across the globe, cities are experimenting with creative ways to decrease the number of deadly animal-vehicle collisions. As my colleague Laura Bliss reported last summer, officials in Banff, Oslo, Los Angeles, and other cities have constructed infrastructure for animals. One study found that these sorts of overpasses, tunnels, or other passageways have reduced animal-vehicle accidents by up to 87 percent. Other towns in England and Finland have painted stripes on horses’ sides or reindeers’ antlers to make them more visible to oncoming traffic.

Based on estimates from insurance company records, Scientific American reported that as many as 2 million animals are killed in collisions with vehicles each year. Slow-moving creatures—such as turtles or salamanders—and roaming animals such as bears or mountain lions are especially vulnerable, according to the Federal Highway Administration.