The mortality of wildlife due to collision with vehicles in Africa is now being recognised as a significant threat to many species. This is of increasing concern, particularly in South Africa, which is the third most biologically diverse country on Earth. With the holiday season almost upon us, many of us will be taking to the roads to visit friends and loved ones. The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) wishes all of you safe travels but also asks that you please spare a thought for the safety of our country’s wildlife. In addition to the many thousands of animals killed on our roads every year, thousands of South African road users are injured or killed from collisions with wildlife each year and almost R1.4 billion worth of damage to vehicles is reported from these incidents.

Dawn, dusk and early evening, are the times you are most likely to encounter animals on the road. An alert driver can do much to prevent collisions with wildlife by following these simple guidelines:

o Keep to the speed limit – driving slower is safer for both humans and wildlife.
o Look for animals on the side of the road where there is vegetation, poor or no roadside fencing, or where a river bed might cross under the road.
o Animals may leap out suddenly. Watch for the reflection of their eyes in the headlights.
o Many animals do not recognise cars as a threat, and don’t know how to get out of the way – look out and give them time to cross.
o Where one animal is crossing, there may be more – be alert.
o Never throw food or litter out of your car – it attracts animals to roadsides.
o Keep a look out for dead animals on the road. If safe to do so, move them to the roadside verge to prevent scavengers feeding on the carcasses, and in turn becoming roadkill.

As part of ongoing efforts to study roadkill and mitigate its effects the EWT’s Roadkill Research and Mitigation Project was recently involved in the development of South Africa’s first standardised protocol for the detection of roadkill on South African roads. The protocol assists users in collecting data for multiple species of vertebrate roadkill and was first used to collect baseline estimates of roadkill in the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area in Limpopo Province.

This assessment in Mapungubwe identified the factors affecting roadkill rates. Over a 120-day period that encompassed three ecological seasons, 1121 roadkill carcasses were identified from 166 different species. Of the 1121 roadkill detected, birds were the most commonly impacted species with 52% of the total sample. Mammals, reptiles and amphibians followed with 26%, 20% and 2% respectively. Medium-sized mammal species consisted of Honey Badger Mellivora capensis, Black-backed Jackal Canis mesomelas, and African Civet Civettictis civetta. Individuals of larger species included Brown Hyena Hyaena brunnea, Spotted Hyaena Crocuta crocuta and Leopard Panthera pardus. Additional data collected found five Cheetahs Acinonyx jubatus were killed on roads adjacent to the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area between January 2006 and June 2009, with nine African Wild Dog Lycaon pictus road fatalities in a 3-month period in 2012. With only 450 African Wild Dogs left in South Africa, roads may have serious impacts on Wild Dog population numbers.

We can, and should, all make a difference on our country’s roads this holiday. Make the festive season a truly joyful time for yourselves and our wildlife by adhering to the safety rules and guidelines. For further information about the Wildlife and Transport Programme please contact Claire Patterson-Abrolat on clairep@ewt.org.za. The Roadkill Research and Mitigation Project is a project initiated by the EWT, Rhodes University and Tshwane University of Technology with funding from Bridgestone SA. E O & Son, De Beers Consolidated Mines, Rhodes University and Mopane Bush Lodge.