[NatureNS] Raccoon roadkill

Date: Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:39:10 -0300
From: Brian Bartlett <bbartlett@eastlink.ca>
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
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A month of so ago I sent a query out on naturens about whether raccoon roadkill was increasing in numbers. Thank you to whoever sent my query to the Dept. of Natural Resources. Just this afternoon the following replies came in, and I thought some readers might be interested to read them:

Hello Mr. Bartlett:
Your query was forwarded to me to answer. The reason why there are so many dead raccoons on the side of the highway is quite straightforward. The raccoon population has exploded locally during the last year or two, and because of this, more animals are available that can end up being hit by cars. Young of the year are particularly susceptible to accidents because they are not used to traffic and highways, etc. When raccoon numbers get very high, they are often hit by distemper, also.  I wouldn't be surprised if sometime in the next year, animals start getting sick with this disease. If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Regards-Jenny Costelo //

I forgot to answer your other question. We do collect biological specimens from deer, moose and black bear, so these species that are hit and killed by vehicles are collected. We then have a yearly inventory of how many are killed across the province by vehicles each year and can determine if trends are developing, etc. For instance, our bear complaints went way up starting around 2002 (green bins introduced at that time), but so did the number of bears killed on highways, so that did indicate an increase in the bear population for the province. We do not collect dead raccoons, but do keep a record of nuisance complaints, so that provides DNR with trend information, also. Trapper information also gives DNR useful information on population numbers, also. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. Regards-Jenny Costelo
Jenny Costelo, Wildlife Technician
Department of Natural Resources
2115 Waverley Rd.
Waverley, N.S., B2R-1Y8

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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>A month of so ago I sent a query out on naturens 
about whether raccoon roadkill was increasing in numbers. Thank you to whoever 
sent my query to the Dept. of Natural Resources. Just this afternoon the 
following replies came in, and I thought some readers might be interested to 
read them:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>
<DIV>Hello Mr. Bartlett:</DIV>
<DIV>Your query was forwarded to me to answer. The reason why there are so many 
dead raccoons on the side of the highway is quite straightforward. The 
raccoon&nbsp;population has exploded locally during the last year or two, and 
because of this,&nbsp;more animals are available that can end up being hit by 
cars. Young of the year are particularly susceptible to accidents because they 
are not used to traffic and highways, etc. When raccoon numbers get very high, 
they are often hit by distemper, also. &nbsp;I wouldn't be surprised if sometime 
in the next year, animals start getting sick with this disease. If you have any 
other questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Regards-Jenny Costelo //</DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>I forgot to answer your other question. We do collect biological specimens 
from deer, moose and black bear, so these species&nbsp;that are hit and killed 
by vehicles are collected. We then have a yearly inventory of how many are 
killed across the province by vehicles each year and can determine if trends are 
developing, etc. For instance, our bear complaints went way up starting around 
2002 (green bins introduced at that time), but so did the number of bears killed 
on highways, so that did indicate an increase in the bear population for the 
province. We do not collect dead raccoons, but do keep a record of nuisance 
complaints, so that provides DNR with trend information, also. Trapper 
information also gives DNR useful information on population numbers, also. If 
you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. 
Regards-Jenny Costelo</DIV>
<DIV>Jenny Costelo, Wildlife Technician<BR>Department of Natural 
Resources<BR>2115 Waverley Rd.<BR>Waverley, N.S., 
B2R-1Y8</FONT></DIV></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>

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