A number of recent collisions between vehicles and wildlife has caused Terrace-based conservation officer Gareth Scrivner to put a call out for drivers to both exercise caution and also to report an incident as soon as possible.
“At this time of year many animals may be travelling to new areas before winter. Some bears will be moving to higher ground, where they can find consistent cold temperatures to den so they don’t wake up during midwinter mild times,” said Scrivner.
“Also, some moose will be moving down from higher elevations to over-wintering grounds … collisions with moose are more common in winter.”
By reporting any incidence swiftly to the conservation office, the public can enure that the animals have the best chance at being rescued and rehabilitated; euthanized to avoid suffering; or to have any edible remains salvaged for meat which can be donated through the Salvation Army.
In the past two months there have been approximately six incidents involving moose and bears.
One incident where a cow moose was struck wasn’t reported until over two days later, and by the time a conservation officer arrived the meat was no longer good to eat. Its calf had disappeared.
The goal is to reduce the time between the incident and the reporting of the incident which Scrivner said is typically too long, in order to achieve the above goals.
“Please drive carefully with wildlife in mind,” said Scrivner.
In the case of an incident, “members of the public cannot legally salvage wildlife meat from road killed animals. However, conservation officers may issue permits for this in some situations.”
The 24 hour line for reporting is 1-877-952-7277.
