Road Kill

[Paladin1950]

Here in central New York State, it's quite common to see dead animals on the roads between towns. In fact, if you are driving down a road or highway and there are not any dead animals, it seems quite strange. There are usually squirrels, woodchucks (aka groundhog), raccoons, possums, and of course, the worst of them all, the stinky little skunk.

If there is a dead skunk on the road, and you have your air conditioning on, the dreadful foul smell is sucked into your car. If you have your heater on, it is sucked in too, but not quite as bad. Fortunately for me, I only have my car's AC on when the weather is in the 90's. I prefer air coming through my windows. But even then, you can smell the stink of the dead skunk.

So when you are driving and happen to see that little stinkbag, Peppy LePew waddling across the road, slow down and let the little stinker cross the road in peace. It will save you and other motorists a world of misery.

 

[oldaunt]

Here we also have turtles, lots of snakes, and deer. Dogs, cats, once in a while a calf, and once a few years ago, a bear. Once I hit a turkey vulture coming up out of the ditch.

 

[Alligatorob]

I was driving late one night on the back road in Idaho. Came over a small rise to see probably 20 skunks in the road. I was going way too fast to stop, so I sped up and aimed for the fewest possible. Probably hit five or six. I never smelled a thing but the next guy along that road probably did .

 

[Knight]

Road kill falls under the category of "waste not, want not"

States that allow roadkill salvage in some way are Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, North Dakota, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington, ...

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/legal-state-take-roadkill-home-eat/

 

[jujube]

Menu at The Roadkill Cafe:

Skunk a la chunk

Lab on a Slab

Snake on a Stake

Armadillo on the Halfshell

Woodchuck under a Truck

A Smear of Deer

Flat Cat

Possum Toss'Um

Moose Mousse

 

[Flarbalard]

I'm lucky that way, I can smell skunk, but it's just a smell it doesn't bother me. Eating it-- so far, not that hungry. Besides when I was a little kid there was someone at the apts across the street that had a pet skunk. He would walk it on a leash, so there's that too.

 

[Paco Dennis]

Would you swerve to miss a small bunny crossing the road? How about a huge Tarantula spider? Makes a difference. and if you swerve too far an accident could happen. Did you know that you have skid over a snake to kill it? Sometimes you just can't avoid it...like a cat or dog that suddenly runs out from nowhere. I have found a deer that was just hit, and we kept it to feed lots of folk. Skunk...I would swerve.

 

[jujube]

I'm lucky that way, I can smell skunk, but it's just a smell it doesn't bother me. Eating it-- so far, not that hungry. Besides when I was a little kid there was someone at the apts across the street that had a pet skunk. He would walk it on a leash, so there's that too.

I got a pet skunk for my 12th birthday. Even though he was "de-scented", there was still a faintly skunky smell to him.

 

[Lewkat]

In NJ, it's often common to see a deer laying dead in the road. Many police departments will get out there and pick it up, as many cops are hunters.

 

[hollydolly]

It's the same here where I live in the rural countryside.. roadkill everywhere... Mainly Badgers, foxes.. squirrels.. rabbits.. the occasional Muntjac... Partridges... and the ridiculously stupid Pheasants who just walk straight out in the middle of the road in front of the traffic..

 

[jujube]

There's a sign on a road near my sister's home in the mountains: CAUTION -SUICIDAL DEER.

 

[Bella]

The problem in my area is deer. They don't seem to be phased by cars. They're everywhere.

 

[Pinky]

Road kill is generally small animals around this part of the city. Squirrels, racoons, skunks, sometimes pigeons. Seeing them always makes me sad

 

[Paladin1950]

There are plenty of deer around where I live. And yes, I see dead deer every so often by the side of the road.

 

[Fyrefox]

Bosch and the Humane Society came up with a brilliant (if not a bit disturbing) PSA a few years back modeled after Michael Jackson’s Thriller called, “Don’t Be A Killer Car…”

 

[Capt Lightning]

 

[TC Steve]

Got a poor little squirrel yesterday on the way to work. I slowed down but he zigged when he should have zagged. RIP!

 

[Don M.]

We live in a rural area with lots of forests and farms. It's very unusual to drive more than a mile without seeing some "mashed" critter. The biggest issue is the increasing numbers of deer. Deer hunting has decreased in recent years, due to the increased spread of a disease among the deer, and, as a result, the deer population is growing rapidly. We have to be especially cautious in the evening....near sundown.

 

[IKE]

I've dodged several critters in the road through the years but one that I couldn't dodge was a doe back in the mid 90's......hit her going about 65 mph and she died instantly.

The impact did a lot of damage to my pickup and ended up costing me right at $3000.00 to have repaired.