Kangaroo road kills can often be avoided!
Many kangaroos and wallabies get killed on the roads. Rain promotes grass on the roadside verges. The animals come to the roadside to feed and get frightened by approaching vehicles. Dazed and blinded by the headlights, they jump into the path of the car and are killed. There are no figures available but there is no doubt that many millions lose their lives every year. Road trains can wipe out dozens of kangaroos in one hit.
One Australian car manufacturer estimates that there are two hundred thousand collisions between motorcars and kangaroos every year. In actual fact, the figures are very much higher, as most Australian country vehicles carry a protective “roo” bar. Damage to the vehicles fitted with this bar is superficial and many incidents are not reported. In Victoria alone there were over a thousand Royal Automobile Club of Victoria insurance claims involving kangaroos during 2001. These cost around $4 million in damage. Nationally, there were 11, 000 claims for kangaroo related accidents costing $21 million in damages. In an attempt to identify “hotspots”, research is currently underway into road kill data in New South Wales. Subsequently, it is hoped that action can be taken to try to reduce the number of animals killed. Similar programs may commence in Tasmania and possibly Queensland. New freeways are being built with fences, tunnels and overpasses to provide wildlife corridors to minimize road kills.
Kangaroos are more inclined to feed in the early morning and at dusk when they are moving between feeding sites and daytime resting areas. They are more likely to be on roadsides in winter and spring, or after a long dry period when grasses elsewhere have dried off. Some experts have suggested that they are more likely to be seen on the roadsides on either side of a full moon.
One progressive rural city council ran a kangaroo awareness campaign, with a slogan “Give kangaroos a brake- slow down!” The slogan was featured on road signs in areas where kangaroos were likely to cross the road to water or shelter. This campaign was extremely effective and produced a marked reduction in kangaroo-related accidents.
After the bushfires in the Australian Capital Territory, the only grass left was growing along the roadsides. The remnant kangaroos were coming to the roadsides to eat. Startled by the noise of an approaching vehicle, they would often leap onto the roadway and be hit by the car. A campaign was launched to alert drivers to the situation, urging cars to slow down and be watchful. This campaign was also very successful and greatly reduced road kills and motor vehicle damage.
Drivers should be educated to slow down when driving on country roads at night, or where kangaroos are likely to be active. They should be aware of the sides of the road as well as the road ahead and appoint a passenger as a “kangaroo spotter”. Reflectors and similar ultra-sound devices on the vehicle should not be relied upon.
On the left, a Rufous Bettong, and on the right an Eastern Grey Kangaroo. 20 years ago Rufous Bettongs in this particular area would sometimes gather on the roads in a group of 60 or more. Now there are hardly any left in this location. In the photo of the grey kangaroo, notice the green grass in the background. Roads are heat banks, and draw in heat from the sun during the day. At night the cool air creates humidity and mist, this condenses on the edge of the road, and causes green grass to grow there. Kangaroos and wallabies come to the grass to graze, and get killed, mostly by heavy trucks that dont even slow down for them!
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