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.

[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.