What should I do if I encounter an animal that has been hit by a car? Take a photo first, really

At the end of last year, we launched the WeChat mini program "Roadkill Survey Record" to collect data on animals killed by vehicles . Every day, we receive photos of animal carcasses uploaded by strangers. Some of them are impressive, such as a king snake spitting blood from its mouth.

This snake is very "fresh", it must have just had an accident. We asked the kind person who uploaded the photo for details, but he said: We are the damn car that caused the accident ...

The driver reconstructed the scene for us: the driver's seat had some obstructions, which made him miss the best time to dodge; when the co-driver reminded him that there was a snake ahead, emergency braking was already useless. Compared to recording the stiff animal corpses, it is more uncomfortable for people to face dying animals. They watch them struggle but have no way to save them. They can only carefully move them to the side of the road and wait for them to die - and this life may even die under their own wheels.

Like this king snake, many animals that are killed on the road are not killed intentionally by humans, but due to blind spots, drivers' lack of reaction time, and people's lack of awareness of the road kill problem, they die in the busy human transportation network .

In January this year, the mini program received records of leopard cat road kills.

Filling the gap in our country’s road kill record

The death of animals due to collision or running over by vehicles is called road kill. Globally, road kill is one of the most important factors leading to the direct death of wild animals. In Europe alone, 194 million birds and 29 million mammals die from road kill every year.

In order to learn more about the impact of roadkill on wildlife, countries such as Belgium, the Czech Republic, Ireland, South Africa, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States have established roadkill reporting systems. Most of these reporting systems collect data through public mobile apps or websites, allowing anyone to become a citizen scientist and provide their own roadkill data for scientific research. However, in China, only Taiwan Province has established the Taiwan Animal Roadkill Observation Network for roadkill, and the mainland still lacks a comprehensive and systematic investigation of roadkill incidents.

Animals killed by roadkill | Nanjing University Animal Behavior and Conservation Laboratory

Since 2020, Professor Li Zhongqiu's research team at Nanjing University has conducted periodic surveys on animal roadkill in urban Nanjing. Based on this, they estimate that approximately 570,000 animals are killed on the road in Nanjing in a year , but the actual number of deaths should be much higher than this figure.

At the end of 2023, Li Zhongqiu's research team launched the WeChat mini-program " Roadkill Biological Survey Record " to collect national terrestrial vertebrate roadkill data from the public.

Through the support and publicity of wildlife conservation enthusiasts and citizen scientists, as of June 30 this year, we have received a total of 1,491 records of terrestrial vertebrates killed by the road from all over the country in the past six months . After identification, 31 records were not road kills, and the valid road kill data was 1,460.

Roadkill animal population statistics

Among the 1,460 valid data, the largest number is amphibians , with a total of 450 records, the most common of which are Chinese toad, giant tree frog, black-rimmed toad, etc.; there are 403 reptiles , such as red-chain snake, short-tailed pit viper, etc.; there are 358 birds , the most common of which are sparrows, blackbirds, white-headed bulbuls and spotted doves; and there are 183 records of mammals , including the Northeast hedgehog, weasel, brown rat and leopard cat, etc.

There are also 66 road kill records that are not classified into these categories. Some of them are cats, dogs, poultry and livestock, which are not wild animals and are therefore not counted together. In addition, some animals that are killed by the road have been crushed to a bloody mess, making it difficult to identify the specific species.

Roadkill of spotted turtle

At present, most of the roadkill data we receive comes from provinces such as Hunan, Hubei, Jiangsu, and Guangdong. Data from the northeast and northwest regions are relatively small. We hope that more users can upload data to us.

1460 lives

Each of the 1,460 lives lost due to vehicle accidents is sad.

One of the most shocking records is the yellow-fronted box turtle recorded in Hainan Province in May this year. China's wild turtle resources are already scarce, and it is extremely difficult to see wild live turtles in the wild. The yellow-fronted box turtle has been listed as a critically endangered species by the IUCN since 2018. In 60 years, due to wild capture and habitat destruction, the number of species has decreased by 90%. Such a rare yellow-fronted box turtle died under the wheels and was crushed in the dust.

A yellow-fronted box turtle (Cuora galbinifrons) crushed by a vehicle

In February this year, we also received a record of roadkill of small civets . Small civets are a national first-class protected animal . Due to illegal hunting and habitat destruction, the number of wild populations has been declining. The occurrence of roadkill incidents has made the recovery speed of its wild population even worse.

In addition to the small civet, we have also received road kill records of hunting falcons , which are also a national first-class protected animal. In addition, we have received road kill records of 27 national second-class protected animals in the past six months. Not only do they include flexible small and medium-sized mammals: corsac foxes, leopard cats, raccoon dogs, and red foxes; there are also soaring birds of prey: long-eared owls, black kites, spotted owls, crested eagles, etc.; there are also amphibians and reptiles that are difficult to avoid vehicles: three-lined snakes, Yunnan warty newts, tiger frogs, Burmese pythons, and shining scale snakes, etc.

A small civet cat (Viverricula indica) was hit and killed in the middle of the road by a car.

When we go out in the wild, we often see roadkill. This summer, we went to the mountainous area of ​​southern Anhui to conduct a biodiversity survey. In just a few kilometers, we recorded more than 20 roadkill lizards and more than 30 roadkill frogs . Some carcasses had been repeatedly crushed and almost merged with the road surface, while some carcasses were so fresh that they were crushed to death not long ago, and even the blood was fresh.

Moreover, these carcasses are concentrated on certain sections of road, which may be because there are habitats suitable for animals to survive or reproduce near these sections, so the population is larger; or there are no fences or drainage pipes on these sections, making it easier for animals to run onto the road.

Road kill species recorded during the survey

Of the 1,491 pieces of data received, 31 were not roadkill, but they also showed the threats to wildlife survival. For example, during the breeding season some time ago, we received records of chicks falling from their nests . Some animals died from falling from their nests, while others were hit by vehicles after falling from their nests (it is not certain whether they died at the time).

Death by nesting

In addition, some bird carcasses were intact, with stiff bodies, slight bloodstains on the corners of their mouths, and glass around them, which meant they died from bird strikes . Some carcasses were bloody and had relatively intact heads, but no internal organs. This type of death was not caused by vehicle collisions, but the most common law of the jungle in nature.

Death from bird strike

We are not helpless in the face of roadkill

Road construction and vehicle traffic have greatly facilitated our lives and promoted social and economic development. In order to reduce road killings, do we have to reduce travel or even stop building roads?

Such a solution is obviously unrealistic. In fact, as long as research and planning are done well when building roads, and hotspots of wild animal activity are avoided as much as possible , the probability of road kill can be reduced. In addition, setting up warning signs for wild animals on the roadside can also remind drivers to pay attention to road kill problems while driving.

Existing roads can also reduce road kills by increasing wildlife passages . For example, large cross structures such as animal bridges can be built above the road to allow large animals such as tigers, leopards, and elephants to move between habitats, which can not only prevent their habitats from being broken up by road construction, but also prevent them from entering the road and causing accidents.

Wildlife Overpass｜Alterra, VINCI Autoroutes

Medium-sized animals such as weasels, raccoon dogs, and badgers tend to move through fish passages or culverts used for drainage;

Underground passage｜VINCI Autoroutes, L'annex

Small animals such as frogs, salamanders, and snakes prefer to move through smaller structures (such as pipes, culverts, fences, etc.). Building or preserving these structures near human facilities such as roads can allow animals to have their own transportation network and reduce the chance of them straying into human roads.

Small channel | François Nowicki

However, whether it is to avoid hot spots of animal activity when building roads, or to build overpasses and underpasses for animals, these decisions have an important premise: data. Only by knowing where the hot spots of animal activity are, knowing the severity of road kill in each area and the main factors affecting its occurrence , can we take corresponding measures to alleviate road kill for different areas and different animal groups.

To collect enough data, citizen science is the most commonly used method. If you see an animal carcass on the road, you can take a photo and record it, and upload it to the WeChat applet " Road Kill Biological Survey Record " anytime and anywhere, which can provide valuable data for road kill research. With a mobile phone, everyone can be a citizen scientist.

Author: Haru