Gruesome Image of Truckload of Dead Animals Sparks Stark Warning—'Bad News'

The National Park Service (NPS) has posted a gruesome image showing a truck filled with animals killed in vehicle collisions in Colorado, with authorities calling on drivers to use caution.

In the photo, what appears to be several dead deer are seen crammed into the back of the truck. The animals had been hit recently by vehicles and collected from roadways by state workers in the Curecanti National Recreation Area, an NPS Facebook post said.

The recreation area, located on the Gunnison River in western Colorado, contains three reservoirs that are popular destinations for water-based recreational activities.

Across the country, roads cut across the habitats of many wildlife species, creating the potential for collisions with vehicles. These collisions present a risk not only to the animals themselves but also to the drivers in cases where the wildlife involved is sufficiently large.

An estimated 1 million to 2 million collisions between vehicles and large animals occur every year in the United States, according to a Federal Highway Administration report.

In most cases, animals that have been hit by vehicles die immediately or shortly after the collision. While exact figures regarding the exact number of wildlife killed in road collisions are hard to come by, it is clear these incidents affect large numbers of animals.

In some species, such collisions even pose a risk to the survival of local or regional populations, alongside other threats such as habitat loss.

In fact, for a number of threatened or endangered species in the United States, road mortality is among the major threats to their survival. These include Key deer, bighorn sheep, ocelots, the desert tortoise, the eastern indigo snake, the California tiger salamander, the Hawaiian goose and the Florida scrub jay.

Most vehicle-animal collisions—around 95 percent—result in no human injury, figures from the report show. But collisions with larger animals such as moose, elk and deer have a higher risk of injury.

While human injuries and fatalities in these incidents are rare, they do occur. The report estimates that around 26,000 injuries and roughly 200 deaths are attributable to such collisions every year in the United States.

In the case of the dead animals in the Curecanti National Recreation Area, the NPS said the weather in the local area may have played a role in their deaths.

"Bad news is that due to the heavy snows this winter there are a lot of deer and elk grazing along the highways. Many are being hit by vehicles," the NPS post said.

Lori Rome, a spokesperson for the Curecanti National Recreation Area, told Newsweek: "This winter has been exceptionally cold and snowy. Deer, elk, and bighorn sheep tend to browse and forage near roadways because the roads, which are plowed, and adjacent areas are not covered by deep snow like the surrounding higher elevations."

Last week alone, around five deer and elk were being hit daily in Curecanti, the park service said.

In a reply to the Facebook post, one user said: "Deer in shocking numbers are killed basically every year about this time. I drive from Monarch Pass to Montrose. I can circle on the map all the hotspots."

The user continued: "I came through last week and large trucks were speeding through, even after passing countless animals crossing the road... Bigger trucks just don't seem to care. As soon as the snow starts receding the problem diminishes. So, I think there is a lot more that could be done to help the big game along Hwy 50 just east and west of Gunnison."

The NPS advised people in the Curecanti area to "slow down and be careful" on the roadways. Slowing down gives you more time to react to any animals that appear in the road, reducing the chances of a collision.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife recommends staying particularly alert when driving around dawn and dusk, which is when many animals are most active and crossing roadways.

The agency also says it is a good idea to scan ahead and watch for movement at the sides of the road. When driving at night, watch for eyes shining in the headlights. Finally, always pay attention to wildlife warning signs.

Research carried out by insurance company State Farm suggests that the majority of animal collisions involve deer.

The company documented more than 1.9 million animal collision insurance claims in the United States between July 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020. Among these were an estimated 1.5 million claims for collisions with deer—more than any other animal.

Update 04/06/23, 06:49 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include additional information from the National Park Service.

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