Any of you worried about wildlife?

[Saint-Just]

When driving/riding, of course.
I dread the day a fox, badger, deer or pet will decide to cross the road just as I arrive, especially at night.
I've had a couple of close calls but nothing more than a little pigeon dust or a few feathers.

However it seems that in Scotland where deer are rather plentiful they are rather keen on a little gadget they stick on their bumper/ front mudguard.

Anyone has tried it?

 

[MaC]

Never heard of that

There are deer here too. They keep getting knocked down on the main road. Council lorry comes past early every morning checking and picking up any carcases. Usually it's foxes, occasionally badgers, and deer, but my neighbour swears she saw a beaver the other morning. :dunno:

 

[Woody Girl]

Round here in the early autumn pheasants are a nightmare on the roads. In a twenty mile stretch I've counted 43 pheasant carcasses. That's without the badgers foxes rabbits and hedgehogs.
I've mentioned before what a nightmare that road is all twisty and narrow with birds all over the place. Sometimes there are five or six in the middle of the road just running back and forth in stupidity . I've nearly been knocked off my bike by a young fawn followed by its mother deciding to cross the road as I rounded a corner at 45mph. Missed it by inches and went between them, pulled up, and realised I was still alive. Scary! If I'd have braked I'd have been off! Gotta keep a cool head round here at times.

 

[Quarterstaff]

Unfortunately I’ve hit a few rabbits and a couple of pheasants over the years, thankfully not often.

I have been using a deer whistle for 10 years or so. Only had one incident that was averted possibly due to the whistle. I could see the deer heading towards a road side fence as if to jump it but it very suddenly put the brakes on, just in time as well!
Personally I’m not 100%certain they work, maybe in certain circumstances/conditions, but I did read somewhere, years ago, that in certain states/areas? in the US you get them gratis when your car insurance documents arrive?
I think for the price they’re worth trying, certainly better for the deer and cheaper than the hassle of having a car repaired or worse, I’ve seen cars written off to due deer collisions, luckily occupants unharmed.

I hate seeing anything that’s been hit.

 

[Stew]

We need a mythbusters episode to see if they work.

 

[Jaggededge]

On the way back from the east coast late one night I ran over a rabbit that failed to move. There was a double thump as the front and then the rear went over it. I broke out into the chorus of bright eyes, my wife broke out crying.

 

[ElThomsono]

French man discovers this one weird trick to avoid hitting deer, local dogs HATE him!

 

[BorderReiver]

Muntjac are a right pain at nights round here, they graze at the side of the road and decide to rush across as you approach. Not seen many flat roe recently, or pheasants.

 

[CaptainBeaky]

There were interminable discussions about deer whistles on the old GS riders newsgroup (ok, yes, I'm old) - there was never any real consensus as to whether they worked or not.

 

[noddy]

I’ve hit a few rabbits and a couple of pheasants over the years, thankfully not often.

Yes, it's such a pest having to go back for the second shot.

 

[Renton]

Driving behind another car, I saw a squirrell run out into the road and bounce off the side of their rear wheel and run back to the kerb. I was just processing seeing this when my rear wheel thumped up and down, one dead squirrell in the road. Not sure what it thought it was doing!

 

[Andylaser]

 

[Nice65]

We need a mythbusters episode to see if they work.

No they don’t.

https://www.cartalk.com/blogs/wolves-dont-whistle

When I worked for SSE they were issued and fitted to all our vehicles. People were still hitting deer.

I can’t remember the reason, but one of the pair is different from the other, maybe it’s to create a tone? We never did work that out.

 

[Stew]

No they don’t.

https://www.cartalk.com/blogs/wolves-dont-whistle

When I worked for SSE they were issued and fitted to all our vehicles. People were still hitting deer.

I can’t remember the reason, but one of the pair is different from the other, maybe it’s to create a tone? We never did work that out.

i was dubious but also open minded!

 

[Templogin]

On the way back from the east coast late one night I ran over a rabbit that failed to move. There was a double thump as the front and then the rear went over it. I broke out into the chorus of bright eyes, my wife broke out crying.

I had 3 bounces out of a pheasant going under the car. No hope of avoiding it as I was coming around a bend at the legal limit, with hedges either side and a car oncoming.

I think that I have mentioned this before, a tall tale from the motorcycle press if memory serves. A motorcyclist riding a Suzuuki GSXR750 fast around a bend came upon a full size cow stood side-on in his lane. He had nowhere to go due to oncoming traffic so hit the cow square in the centre. The story had it that he was riding so fast that the cow was cut in half. Sharp bike - Yes. Sharp enough to cut a cow in half? Smells fishy to me!

 

[Brian T]

I've only smucked one deer on the highway. Another 2 steps and she would have been clear. Did an impressive amount of damage to the left front corner of my Suburban. Had that been a moose, the 'Burb would have been a write-off. Like hitting a horse, I suppose. We keep any roadkill grouse. They have the IQ of a brick.

Road kill is a very important food resource for the animal life trying to sustain themselves through our snowy winters. The cats, wolves and coyotes feast, the Ravens clean up. If there's a big snow, the Ravens come into town for scraps and wait for the big animals to dig up the RK again.

Maybe a bigger issue here is the railroad. They plow the snow off the tracks. The berms created might be 6'-15' high besides the tracks. Moose and elk stumble onto the tracks and can't get off. The loaded freight trains might be a mile in length and they just can't stop, particularly on an uphill grade. I heard that the railroad was pushing out the berms every 1/4 mile with runaways for the moose. No idea if that was useful or not. I'd hope so.

A few years back, a tourist on a Harley hit a bear. Killed them both.

 

[Beachlover]

.

A few years back, a tourist on a Harley hit a bear. Killed them both.

The bear is to be praised for doing a freebie for Darwin.