Wild weather and wildlife
Snowfalls could push deer, other animals onto Cape Breton roads
SYDNEY — The recent spate of wild weather could cause more wildlife encounters.
After much of Cape Breton was blanketed beneath upwards of 200 centimetres of snow earlier this month, many wild animals are venturing out of the woods and onto the roads, increasing the chances for collisions.
“It's really hard for them to move in the snow depth and in the wintertime, one of the important things and one of their adaptations for winter survival is that they have to kind of maintain their energy sources. So to do that, they do slow down their metabolism in the winter, but they also will seek out open areas or areas where it's easier to travel so that they don't have to expend as much energy and that's where they are coming onto our roads because they've been plowed and it's open and then they are getting stuck on the roads because of the size of the banks,” said Elizabeth Walsh, a regional biologist with the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources.
“So, when that happens, that does increase the potential for conflict with humans, particularly motor-vehicle collisions. They will also find well-groomed snowmobile tracks so those trails could also become a hazard.”
ATTRACTED TO ROAD SALT
Roads and groomed trails aren’t just convenient corridors for travelling, they can also become a source of food and nutrients in the form of garbage and road salt.
“Deer and moose and animals can be attracted to the roadside for the salt value because they do often in the wild rely on mineral licks. So they are looking for those minerals that might be lacking in their diet, so they can be attractive,” said Walsh. “Another thing to consider, we have these high banks and garbage collection is resuming and sometimes garbage is not properly stored. Garbage can also attract animals and if we are attracting them to the roadsides, we do also increase that chance for collisions.”
While not all collisions can be avoided, there are steps people can take to decrease their chances of hitting a deer, moose or any other animal that wanders onto the roadway.
Walsh said animals are most active at dusk and dawn when it’s hardest to see them so she recommends people avoid driving at those times. If you are driving at those times, reduce your speed and be on the lookout for reflective eyeshine.
MORE THAN ONE
And if you see one deer, there are likely others.
“Deer often are herd animals and if one goes past you, there's a chance another might be on its way. Additionally, you want to be giving them space. If they are having a difficult time, get out of their way to allow that time for them to try to move on themselves.”
While wild animals usually avoid human interactions, the added pressure to find food could bring them into backyards, parks and other areas where people gather. Although people may be tempted to feed wild animals, Walsh said that’s never a good idea.
“You're supposed to let wildlife be wild. We don't encourage feeding of wildlife because they can become habituated and used to humans and when that happens, you do increase the chance that there could be a negative interaction with humans. So we want to make sure our wildlife are not becoming dependent on handouts from humans because it usually doesn't end well,” she said.
“Additionally, people think they're being kind, but oftentimes they are not feeding appropriate food sources for wildlife. So you might be thinking you're doing a good job, but you could be providing them with foods that aren't really healthy and nutritional or have a good caloric value for wildlife.”
If you do find yourself face to face with a wild animal, how you should react depends on the animal.
“When we're talking about coyotes or bears, we say to make noise and to act big
— do things to haze them if you're in a close encounter,” said Walsh. “If you encounter a moose that's kind of trapped on a cleared road, hazing is not something to do with them because they would readily perceive that in a negative kind of threatening situation and can turn on a vehicle or a snowmobile. So give them space.”