Does Roadkill Make You Sad?

[Aggie_Ama]

Yesterday as DH and I were riding he very kindly pointed out roadkill in the shoulder. This time it was a small rabbit and I got a little sad about it. DH says it just nature and I shouldn't be sad. I think it is sad the little guy got hit. Am I the only one? Armadillos, skunks, deer and raccoons don't phase me. In the past month or so I have seen the bunny, a fawn (still had spots), a cat and a dog. These make me sad to just pedal by. Am I the only one sensitive to road kill?

[DebW]

A barred owl made me sad. Smashed turtles always make me sad (they've evolved a shell to protect them for predators, but not automobiles). Squirrels and chipmunks on the road are just too common, so don't usually make me sad. I came close to hitting a chipmunk on my bike today, and would have been sad if I'd killed it.

[Nanci]

Does your husband brake to avoid hitting animals? I hate it when people don't even _try_ to miss them. No it's not just nature- cars are not nature. When those little birds swoop down over the road to cross, they are just staying low to the ground to be less vulnerable to hawks. They can't know they are flying at the perfect level for a car to hit them! Snakes and lizards bask on the road to warm up for the day ahead. Every time I see a run-over glass lizard or snake, I think "That could be my Maizey, or my Baby Russell!" I feel happy that they are safe from cars. And turtles- come on. How hard is it to avoid a turtle? Man, those gopher tortoises could be 80-100 years old, and some car takes them out, maybe even for fun??? I say, "God sees the little sparrow fall" and to me that means that every life, no matter how small, is _equally_ important. Hopefully, those that don't mind hitting animals will be held accountable later.

[Aggie_Ama]

Deb- I missed the turtle that he saw later in the ride.

Nanci- The funny thing is my husband was a Wildlife Major. He hates the urbanization of the area we are in, 6 years ago (when we left for college) it was not very populated and roadkill was not common. I think he meant it is the nature of us (humans) taking over everywhere.

Although he hunts and loves to fish, he doesn't hit anything on purpose. He is even more of an animal lover than I am. I hate snakes, but he will play with the non-venomous ones. And he said he would prefer to release any fish he catches because it is hard for him to filet them. About a year ago I hit a squirrel in my car and was very upset, he offered to drive the rest of the way. I think he just doesn't want me to get upset on a ride over something he knows we will see often.

[Nanci]

I must admit, I was a little happy when I saw a roadkill black cat out in front of my house, because I thought it was the feral cat who was killing all my songbirds. But it wasn't.

Nanci

[salsabike]

Yes, it makes me sad, period. There aren't many living creatures I can think of that I'd want to do without, even the ones I don't like or am scared of (yellowjackets).

[Nanci]

I could live without fireants, or any biting ants.

AA, I wasn't attacking your husband. BF is always telling me I'm going to kill me and everyone in the car with me if I keep braking/swerving to miss whatever. I don't care. And usually this is prompted by a mild slowing down- not anything drastic. I think some people are afraid to take evasive action. Just think if that was a kid chasing a ball suddenly running out- gotta keep in practice by not hitting squirrels!

I've found that, with birds, crows, vultures, etc., if I start gently honking the horn as soon as I see them (out there eating roadkill!) they will move out of the way.

[Kalidurga]

What makes me sad is not the death of the animal per se, but the fact that it's a wasted death. It didn't die of "natural" causes, it didn't die as the result of predation, it died most likely because someone wasn't paying attention to the road. Life feeds on life, but metal and rubber shouldn't.

[Lise]

Yup, always sad. I'm not sad for bugs smushed on the windshield, but everything on up from there, yes.

On a lighter note, one time I was road-tripping to the Great Smokeys with DP-du-jour (1990?). Up ahead we saw what we thought was road kill. Both started to get really sad. It looked like several animals, a whole family? As we passed it, we realized...it was chunks of turf. We laughed about the tragic turf roadkill for the rest of the trip. :p

[MomOnBike]

Acutally, I feel bad when I see Monarch butterflies on the front grill of my car. But the dead mosquitoes make me smile.

[iFKA]

few days ago I was driving my car very fast cause i was on a fast road and I hit little sparrow and that made me very sad :( . They always stay on the road until the last minute, till the car is very near them but then somehow fly in the safety - and I admire them for that. That time I also expected him to fly in the air but I hit him and I saw his poor little body on the road in my mirror. It's bothering me still. But there's nothing I could do. I could turn the wheel but that would be dangerous for me and the drives near me. Few months ago one man was killed cause he was trying to avoid the dog on the road.
I know that it may sound terrible but if you see an animal on the road don't try to avoid it unless you're driving very slow.

[Geonz]

I think wildlife major hubby says "it's natural" to help him with the whole idea. And in a way it is - no, cars aren't "natural" but they are a part of the world, and they're a "fatality factor" that some critters are going to succumb to. (Where do you draw the line? Is a beaver dam really "natural?" It's something built for an organism's own purpose. Yea, it's a reach, but ...)

I do tend to (also having a degree in wildlife) say "oh, it's a bug, it's r-selected anyway." Which is to say, the organism has tons of offspring and relatively few survive; death is more likely than life in the normal course of things. The k-selected critters give me a moment of sadness... (the ones where , generally, more organism energy and time are invested in the individual and a higher percentage of 'em s;urvive). And we're pre-programmed to sympathize with baby things.

[kjay]

Whenever I see any dead animal on the road, I am very sad. About the only thing I do to comfort myself is to say a little prayer and ask God to bless it. When I was young, my mom told me that God knows each and every little sparrow, and I've never forgotten that. :)

[Nanci]

I do kind of the same thing, especially with birds. Say "I'm sorry, Mr. Cardinal. I'll miss you."

Nanci

[Tri Girl]

Yup, I'm usually pretty sad no matter what it is. Mostly tho- I hate that their guts are just strewn about the road (not that getting hit is pretty, but it makes me sadder when they're just torn apart:( ).
I don't like some creatures, but always feel bad at killing them. The only thing I'll kill when I'm threatened are bees (allergic), mosquitos (very bad reactions), and spiders (Arachnaphobia ruined me). The rest I'll capture and release to nature.

On a side note, my golden retriever is a murder machine. He kills any small animal that enters our property. We've had to dispose of countless squirrels and bunnies. I can't stop him (no matter how hard I try) from doing what comes naturally, but it pains me to see him do that. :(

[Brandi]

I voted ,"depends on what kind of animal". But the truth is I don't feel sad if it is old and you can't figure out what it was. I get very sad though. I see alot of fox, deer, skunk, coyote, and other small animals. I can't ever get over how they die It is so sad that they get taken out the way they do. But then being eaten by a predator would be just as bad. I don't know? It is all sad!

[emily_in_nc]

Roadkill always makes me very sad, sometimes to the point of tears.

One of my saddest moments was killing a very large turtle whom I didn't see at all. I was in a huge line of traffic moving slowly, bumper to bumper, going home from work. This huge turtle, I hate to imagine how old, picked then to cross this very busy road. Because the cars were so close together, I couldn't see him come out from under the car in front of me in time to stop. I was devastated when I heard the crunch of the shell and realized what I'd hit. I walked in the house just bawling and wasn't myself for several days.

Since then I've made it a personal obligation to save every single turtle I see; I stop every single time, whether on bike or in a car, to help them across the road. Just did it today, in fact! I guess if I save enough, I'll forgive myself for the one I crushed. I still hate to think about it. :(

Emily

[DebW]

I've read that populations of ravens and other scavengers have increased in some areas due to roadkill. Cars kill, but they don't eat, so extra food just lying there for something to consume.

[Kitsune06]

For me, it depends.
It's hard for me to feel too bad about rodents or wildlife in general (seen too much) but puppies and cats really get to me. Especially ones who were pets, and you know their owners are probably worried sick about them b/c they're missing.

I guess I was just one of those farm kids... with 3 cats and 2 dogs... (and one or three of everything else!)

[Aggie_Ama]

Nanci- I didn't take offense. I reread my post and realized my husband is much more sensitive than I described.

I think Sue is right, he doesn't like it but must explain it to himself. Saying it's nature is how he does that. I think it is the nature these animals now live in. Very sad but they are learning to eat our plants instead of native vegetation and some are quite good at avoiding our cars.

Growing up in Texas I think I am desensitized (sp?) to dead armadillos, skunks and raccoons. Those don't bother me. I am glad I am not crazy for being sad!

[horsemom]

Ohmygosh, I get sad about roadkill too! I never realized how much there was until I started biking! My husband is a veterinarian and we do wildlife rehab, and I think of all the critters we have raised and then to see the same species splattered in the road just kills me. I have gotten up at night to feed baby squirrels and now they are all over the road!

Laura

[Dianyla]

Well I guess it's confirmed, I'm pretty callous. :rolleyes:

I rarely get upset by roadkill. In our modernized countries there are so few large natural predators (wolves, bears, big cats, etc) and essentially cars have replaced them in the scheme of things. Everything dies, eventually.

About the only time I can recall being upset was when I rode by a mama duck that had gotten run over. Next to her was a baby duckling that appeared to have starved to death while holding vigil.

[margo49]

It makes me sad too. I think that when you aare biking you pay more attention to *everything* .
And *everything* affects you more when you are in the headspace you get into after the first few km of the ride.
I saw 2 dead kingfishers (my favourite bird) on Saturday .
I also think that one about G-d and the sparrows

[Trek420]

I get very sad.

I don't take the line that cars are performing a valuable function of predators. Animals that prey on other species benefit the species they kill by weeding out the sick, the lame.

Cars kill 'em all.

Even skunks make me a little sad :o