Understanding Wildlife to Protect Yourself and Them
By Christian Warren Freed
It’s that time of year again. The leaves are changing. The weather is trying to decide whether it should cool down or scorch us for another round of second summer. Driving around with the windows down, enjoying the day feels right. Then you look ahead and see a deer lying on the side of the road. Drive a little further, and there’s another. You start noticing quite a few local animals all struck by vehicles when their movements intersected in that fateful moment.
According to the North Carolina Department of Transportation, there are more than 17,000 incidents every year in which vehicles strike animals. One result is property damage costs ranging from $136 million to $146 million annually. North Carolina is 12th in the country for drivers striking animals, making the risk of collision 1 in 81. Ninety percent of these accidents involve deer. Now that fall is here, we are at an elevated risk until December. But why? And, more importantly, what can you do to lower your odds of colliding with a deer?
For answers, I turned to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC). I spoke with Wildlife Extension Biologist Falyn Owens to see what tips and insights we can use to avoid injury, loss of life, and vehicle damage.
Wake County is consistently recording among the highest number of animal-related collisions, due to explosive economic development, removal of natural habitats, and the rising likelihood of animal encounters on a daily basis. One way to mitigate becoming part of the statistics is through understanding why animals are so active during this time of year, called “rut,” which typically lasts around a month, with a week-long peak before activity declines back to normal levels.
Falyn says, “Fall is mating season for white-tailed deer. During this time, male deer (bucks) roam over large areas — up to 8 miles a day — searching for females (does) to mate with. Bucks can tell when a doe is ready to mate by detecting specific pheromones in her urine. Once a buck catches that scent, he becomes very focused on tracking her down. He’ll wander into unfamiliar places and cross roads without much caution.”
Bucks try to mate with as many females as possible during this season and, as a result, spend most of their time on the move, covering massive swaths of territory. That means crossing roads at increased rates, often at the wrong time for both them and us. Combine the animal being in an unfamiliar area with your rush to get home, and you have an instant recipe for disaster.
But deer aren’t the only animals we need to worry about. Bears have moved into the area with growing frequency. A few months ago, one was hit and killed crossing the street up in Rocky Mount and, with sightings continuing to grow, you can bet it’s only a matter of time before the same happens here. When black bears are on the move, it’s for different reasons. Spring is their mating season, and youngling males start searching for a territory to call their own. There are some incidents during this time, but the majority come in the fall. Falyn explains, “For bears, fall is all about putting on weight to prepare for the lean winter months. Bears enter a state called hyperphagy — literally ‘eating a lot’ — characterized by constant, insatiable hunger for fatty, calorie-dense foods like acorns and other seeds. During this time, bears spend as many as 20 hours a day searching for as much food as possible (upwards of 20,000 calories daily), crossing many roads in the process. The hyperphagy phase can last 2-3 months, beginning in late summer and peaking around October. Bears will continue their intense search for food until it becomes scarce at the onset of cold weather.”
Wildlife collisions happen throughout the year for various reasons — mating, migration, or juvenile dispersal— but deer and bears are the only ones the Department of Transportation tracks for accidents. In many cases, drivers might not notice if they’ve hit a turtle, opossum, raccoon, beaver, or squirrel. This brings us to the big question: What can we do to avoid, as much as possible, hitting animals? The Department of Transportation and the NCWRC are on the same page. Most countermeasures are common sense. The first, and perhaps most important factor most people are guilty of is not paying attention. Get off your device and watch your surroundings. It only takes a split-second for that deer to jump out in front of you, and where there is one, there’s a good chance others are right behind it. One lesson I learned growing up in the mountains is that if you see a deer crossing the road, you need to look to whatever direction it came from to see if more are following. This may not sound important, but I know I’m not the only one who has attended a funeral for a friend who died after his car hit a deer.
The most dangerous times are right before and right after the sun goes down, typically from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. This is peak time for animals to be active, especially in wooded or undeveloped areas. Slow down and pay attention.
If a deer does jump out in front of you, NCDOT says not to swerve, even if a collision is imminent. This can have catastrophic consequences for you if there is oncoming traffic. While fatalities are still rare, there are almost 3,000 car-and-animal crashes in Wake County annually, resulting in over 100 driver injuries.
NCDOT says to slow down and honk your horn when you see a deer crossing near you in a potentially dangerous way. Ensure you maintain safe distances between other vehicles. You can be part of the accident suddenly if you are traveling too close to another vehicle that hits a deer.
Falyn’s best advice is, “Be aware that when the sun is down — especially near dawn and dusk — wild animals may be crossing the road. Wear your seatbelt, stay focused on the road, and be prepared to slow down for wildlife.
While the odds of hitting a deer or bear are slim, they are never zero. Muhammad Ali famously once said, “Looking at life from a different perspective makes you realize that it’s not the deer that is crossing the road, rather it’s the road that is crossing the forest.”
The next time you get in the car or truck, remember to take a little mental pause. These animals aren’t expecting to get hit any more than you’re expecting to hit them. Slowing down might just save your life…and theirs.
For more information on all things wildlife in NC, please go to ncwildlife.gov. To learn more about mitigating collisions, go to ncdot.gov/initiatives-policies/safety/driving-safety/Pages/deer-collisions.
