How to Avoid Injuring Wildlife During Your Commute
There are many threats to wildlife in our modern world. While not all those threats are of human creation, the pressures we have created are taking a remarkable toll on many species. Habitat destruction (the clearing and changing of land for development or other uses) and habitat fragmentation (the dividing of land into sections separated by altered landscape) have a significant impact on wildlife, particularly for terrestrial species such as mammals, reptiles, and amphibians.
For example, slow-moving turtles are especially vulnerable to road traffic, as their natural inclination when threatened is to withdraw into their shell, which makes them unable to avoid a collision and appear more like debris in the road. Traveling animals likely took quite some time to build up the courage to cross this strange barrier in their habitat, and a moment’s carelessness on our part can spell disaster.
While it is not reasonable to expect that humans will stop developing land or building roads anytime soon, each of us can do our part in reducing road injuries while we drive. Here are some simple tips you can practice to help reduce road injuries.
Be alert as you drive. If you see a dark shape on the road surface, don’t assume it is just debris. In springtime and around dusk especially, it may likely be wildlife. Stay alert…
