Saturday, August 19, 2006
Fauna
I was barely out of my neighborhood this morning on my way to work when a small deer ran into the access road. When it realized that a vehicle was coming toward it, it ran back into the trees. Poor little thing. As I drove by, it stood stock still, trying to hide from me, I'll bet. I wonder if it recovered enough to cross the road later. Something inside me hopes it didn't, because beyond the spit of land it was headed toward lies the highway.
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Maybe you startled it enough to help it realize it was in an unsafe area.
ReplyDeleteI sure hope so. It's really sad to see the big animals by the side of the road, bloating, if no one gets to them in time to save the meat. You're supposed to call the sheriff's dept when you hit an elk, so it can be butchered for needy families. I think that's the one good thing in the situation.
ReplyDeleteI hate how modern civilization just disrupts the innocent animals.
ReplyDeletePeople have to live somewhere, Tempest. That has been the case for centuries, even in ancient times. Road kill is not a new phenomenon.
ReplyDeleteSometimes people today get lucky and can live tucked back in a cranny of the forest. In my neck of the woods, the critters way outnumber the humans.
That stretch of highway actually has several bridges to allow animals to move freely underneath. The highway department worked very closely in the planning with the Game & Fish department, that had been monitoring animal movements for some years. We do strive to live in harmony with nature around here.
By the way, I'm not talking hundreds of animals splattered on the road. Elk/vehicle encounters are not rare, but they aren't an everyday occurance here, either. I've only seen two since I moved up here.
ReplyDeleteIt's far more common to see--or smell--a skunk. So far, I haven't hit one! I almost got a big, fat raccoon tonight, though. It was amazing how fast it ran across the road, being as portly as it was. I braked, but feared I would hit it in the rear. I didn't, though. Whew!