Saturday, on my 134-mile bicycle ride from Lewis Center, Ohio to the beautiful village of Nellie, Ohio, I took my annual survey of roadkill. My report: The roadkill count once again hit a new record. Dead along the road were deer, raccoons, groundhogs, opossums, skunks, a coyote, and birds -- lots of birds.
I have been seeing more roadkill year after year. At times this year, the proximity of carrion created a pungent smell of death that lingered for close to a mile. Nasty, especially on a warm, humid day.
As expected, the number of carrion-eating birds appears to be at a new height. At least something benefits.
My conclusion: Wildlife in Ohio is becoming more abundant. That is wonderful, but it does lead to heads up riding and the more-than-occasional held breath.
10 comments:
Jim,
I've seen reports stating that there is a virus (carried by mosquitos) of some kind hitting the buzzards as well as the crows...I've seen a lot more crows and buzzards on the ground (alive and in the fields) the past few years and that is unusual.
Take Care and God Bless,
Jim
I see other, positive signs in your high roadkill count: It's also proof that, despite the doom & gloom reporting on food scarcity things 'aint that bad. That all of these reportedly starving Americans haven't resorted to roadkill cuisine seems to disprove the notion that the pantry inventories of the many have been displaced by global warming and ethanol production.
Over the weekend I spoke with a Ohio Division of Wildlife Officer who stated the Deer Population in Ohio is at an "extremely concerning level." The DNR fears that with the increased population, the deer will fall victim to a massive outbreak of disease that will wipe out most of the herd.
The main cause for the increase in population is due to the lack of access to hunting land by responsible hunters and a slow, but long running, decline in hunting by the public. Another contributor was the weather during last years hunting season which caused a lower kill rate than expected.
I'll be out in full force starting late October / early November to due my part to help the DNR in their efforts to reduce the expanding deer population. Hunting is an enjoyable passtime for my family and I and when we eat venison chops, burgers, jerky, sausage, etc... we know the it isn't ecoli contaminated! ; )
P.S Heavy deer populations can get tuberculosis. That is what happened to the deer that were removed from Sharon Woods Metro Park in Columbus several years ago. The "do gooders" didn't want them killed, so thousands of tax dollars were spent to tranquilize and move them to a "sactuary" in Northern Ohio. Most of them died on the trip, and the rest had tuberculosis and were euthanized. Well, what most people don't know, and the Delaware County Wildlife Officer (Leland Earhart) told me most of them die from the shock of the traquilizer.
P.S Heavy deer populations can get tuberculosis. That is what happened to the deer that were removed from Sharon Woods Metro Park in Columbus several years ago. The "do gooders" didn't want them killed, so thousands of tax dollars were spent to tranquilize and move them to a "sactuary" in Northern Ohio. Most of them died on the trip, and the rest had tuberculosis and were euthanized. Well, what most people don't know, and the Delaware County Wildlife Officer (Leland Earhart) told me most of them die from the shock of the traquilizer.
The virus carried by misquitos is west nile. It kiiled a large population of our Birds of Prey which inclueded my Great Horned Owls. They have since rebounded and my hawks (Red Tailed, and Coopers) are still going strong. As for Turkey Vultures, they are just as abundant as ever ( on my property anyway) and the eats should be good with all of the road pizza available!!!
The virus carried by misquitos is west nile. It kiiled a large population of our Birds of Prey which inclueded my Great Horned Owls. They have since rebounded and my hawks (Red Tailed, and Coopers) are still going strong. As for Turkey Vultures, they are just as abundant as ever ( on my property anyway) and the eats should be good with all of the road pizza available!!!
That's what happened in Yellowstone with bison and brucellosis. The do-gooders set up feed stations for the bison on park property so they wouldn't go outside of the park to graze (and be shot by ranchers), but in so doing they created the perfect mechanism to spread the disease--not only among the bison population, but to elk and other animals that frequent the feed stations.
But to the do-gooders it's the good intentions that count, not the results.
Hey... I'm a do-gooder and the annual results of my good deeds typically yield 250 lbs of fresh venison in the freezer and a much needed reconnection with our planet and its wildlife wonders. This year I "aim" to take as many does as possible and donate the meat to the Columbus food pantry. Everyone wins (and I get to hunt more!) : )
The systematic elimination of natural predators (wolves, bobcats, pumas) has allowed prey populations to increase to the point where they stuggle to find food in their diminishing habitats. So these animals are increasingly seeking food near human populations, and finding they like the menu.
And as happens in nature, the gap left by the loss of the natural predators is being filled by other species, all the way from viruses to coyotes, which are not native to our area. Out in the farmland were I live, you are told that if you leave any dogs outside on tethers, you need to put them inside cages to keep the coyote packs from attacking and eating them. Our home is on the trail of one pack, and about once a week one of them takes a dump on my back deck.
There was another part to that story about the deer from Sharon Woods which were caught and relocated: Up to that point, the Ohio cattle herd had been declared disease-free by the USDA, meaning that only a small fraction of the meat needed to be inspected before going to market. But once infected deer were introduced to the cattle-raising areas, and some cattle became infected, the disease-free certification was lost. Beef growers had to incur much greater costs for both prophylactic treatment and inspection, and that showed up in the beef prices.
Meanwhile, cars and trucks have become significant wildlife predators. Seems like it would a lot cheaper and more humane to shoot a deer than run it down.
The do-gooders want to ban guns. I say we ban cars, which kills lots more people and animals than guns do.
So why did the chicken cross the road?
To prove to the 'possum that it could be done...
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