Roads and Wildlife
While driving in Kruger National Park you see thousands of wonderful animals all while driving on a paved road. During my time in the park I saw lions, snakes, lizards, and elephants all on the road. Some animals cross, while some animals relax in the road so the question of how safe are these roads for the wild life comes up. We have an obligation to make sure these animals are not harmed by motorized vehicles in their natural environment. Roads already cause a lot of natural land damage, but on top of that to have hundreds of thousands of cars driving on the roads a day causes concern because wildlife is getting killed by passing traffic.
What are the causes of roadkill in South Africa? Well immediately I would assume speed. The Endangered Wildlife trust conducted a survey and it revealed that drivers for the most part actually did follow speed limits and road rules. The survey revealed that 70% of people were going the speed limit, or even below the speed limit, but it also revealed that 70% of people aren’t looking at the road and rather looking into the bush where they think the wildlife is. This means that in many cases roadkill happens because of the expectation of wildlife near the road but not on the road. A suggestion that could be made would be for a driver awareness campaign to be launched in the parks to make drivers more aware that animals can actually be spotted right on the road. Looking at the road as the driver is the most important thing, have the other people in the car be the spotters for wildlife…or you might be killing the wildlife you’re trying to view.
Something that needs to be mentioned because it could cost an animal their life is how competitive cars can be in the park to view wildlife. Road rage, traffic jams, and road kill can all happen when people are rushing and competing for that best position to view wildlife. When something really exciting is happening, the congestion of cars around that area can get intense, and people start getting angry and making risky moves to get around cars. I believe animal safety should be the number one priority in the park, as we are in their environment. Reminding people to go the speed limit, look at the road, and relax could potentially save a lot of wildlife.
We all go to Kruger National Park to view wildlife, it would be super unfortunate to accidentally harm an animal during your stay so that’s why taking the proper precautions is so crucial to having a nice trip. Making sure you’re not driving where you’re not supposed to, not getting out of your car where you’re not supposed to, and keeping a healthy distance from all wildlife are just some other things to note. Let’s not have any accidental human caused animal deaths in the park, let’s keep it natural!
