Our friends at Watch For Wildlife (W4W) have a reminder for all of us now that it’s that time of year again. “That time of year” means rutting time when bucks are looking for romance. Mating season can cause deer to be bolder and less apprehensive of people. And since they’re a bit preoccupied looking for a lovely doe, they may cross roads more carelessly.
Deer are most active at dawn and dusk, and as the days are getting shorter it means drivers are on the roads more often at this time. Coupled with an increased boldness of bucks during the rut, it’s important that drivers take a few steps to reduce the likelihood of collisions, including:
- pay extra attention while driving and obey the speed limit, especially where visibility may be reduced, or in areas that you aren’t familiar with the road
- scan ahead and look for movement or the reflection of eyes from the side of the road
- slow down if you see an animal, even a slight reduction in speed can give an animal enough time to get out of the way
For more information and tips on how to reduce vehicle-wildlife collisions, visit W4W at http://www.watchforwildlife.ca