By Kevin Foster
Native Animal Rescue, along with several other rescue organizations, notices right after the Fall time change, an increase in Wildlife injuries due to rush-hour traffic now happening at dusk, when a lot of our forest creatures are starting to become active. When the great horned owl in the barn now hunts for prey, it’s usually just before sundown. Our deer populations also come out to forage at this time; bucks are also chasing mates during this time of year. When most of us are on our way home from work, the majority of the animal populations are still adapting to shorter days and it becoming dark earlier.
Our wildlife, including deer, are carrying on as normal, not knowing of the concept of time. Come Autumn,those same deer have become long accustomed to darting across the road, day after day for weeks on end, right around the hour of 6 p.m. When the human clock suddenly turns back to Pacific Standard Time (PST), those same sunset-darting deer find themselves crossing the road at the very height of rush hour. That’s when bad things happen to good deer — and good people in cars and trucks as well.
So I thought this month’s column would be a good reminder to plant the seed of caution for the influx of wildlife we at Animal Rescue received this time of year; injured owls, deer, racoons and skunks, that have had altercations with vehicles. And of course the best reminder is the deer and other wildlife we see that didn’t make it on the sides of the road more frequently this time of year.
As the sunlight fades, the end of daylight saving time pushes rush hour into dusk, the time when many animals are most active. It’s also harder for drivers heading home from work to see anything trying to cross the road. It is good to keep in mind, all wildlife are struggling to find food, having to search farther and further out to keep their bellies full. So during fall please keep in mind that we’re not the only ones on the road trying to get home or get our dinner.
Happy holidays to all our readers, and stay safe on those roads!
