Roadkill rates fall dramatically as lockdown keeps drivers at home, reports National Geographic
As Americans stayed home in March and April, vehicle deaths declined up to 58 percent among large species like mountain lions, a new report says.
During the peak of the lockdowns in March and April, traffic on U.S. roads fell by as much as 73 percent. During that same period, fatal collisions with deer, elk, moose, bears, mountain lions, and other large wild animals fell by as much as 58 percent. Road deaths of dogs, sheep, and other domestic animals show a similar plunge.
“The longer it lasts, the more animals that would have died are not dying,” says Fraser Shilling, co-director of the University of California, Davis Road Ecology Center and lead author of the report, which was released June 26.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2020/apr/22/animals-roaming-streets-coronavirus-lockdown-photos?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other In other places, for example in the United Kingdom, wildlife have taken advantage of fewer people being about – searching for food, or company… The Guardian
