Less roadkill during the pandemic could translate to more deer down the road
Deer collisions are down in several parts of the nation, including in California. (Ivana Cajina/)This story originally featured on Outdoor Life.Hunters know the risks of cruising down rural highways in whitetail country, and the deer carcasses lining our roadways are a not-so-subtle reminder. But during COVID-19 closures and social distancing, there has been a steep drop in the number of animals killed by vehicles.Roadkill animal deaths fell in California, Idaho, and Maine, according to a study by the Road Ecology Center at the University of California-Davis. The study found that animals killed by cars dropped by 21 to 56 percent—depending on the location—from March to mid-April. The reason for the decline was directly tied to the reduced number of motorists on our roadways—traffic in the U.S. fell by 73 percent during peak lockdown, according to National Geographic.“There is a statistically significant decline in wildlife deaths on highways in all three...