The Impact of Roadkill on Animal Behavior

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This chapter discusses the impact of roadkill on animal behavior and how it has disrupted the natural evolutionary defense strategies of various species. It explores examples of animals adapting to living with human structures and the measures taken to prevent collisions between vehicles and animals on the road. The chapter also delves into the freezing response of deer when caught in car headlights and how this response has become maladaptive due to the presence of cars.

Deer in headlights! Alligators in crosswalks! A possum in the oven? If you love wildlife, this is a must-listen to avoid killing critters with your car. Ben Goldfarb wrote the book on road kill and we chat about: wildlife crossings, skunk smells, moose impacts, ocelot facts, what to do if you see roadkill, how to avoid making more of it, and whether it's okay to pick up a dead thing. Ben is an award-winning science journalist with a Masters in Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and I’ve waited LITERAL YEARS to talk to him about this topic as he wrote his latest book: “Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet.” Also: flip phones, sleep hygiene, and how to ask your boss for a raise.

Visit Ben Goldfarb’s website and follow him on Twitter and Instagram

Shop Ben’s book, Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet (2023), and his award-winning first read, Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter (2019)

A donation went to Wildlands Network