(Submitted photo/Ministry of Environment)

By Ian Gustafson

Sask. Wildlife Federation encouraging drivers to be more alert

Oct 18, 2020 | 8:00 AM

The Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation (SWF) is reminding drivers to stay alert on the highway.

According to SWF director of communications and marketing Chelsea Walters, the fall season is mating season for moose and various deer species. As a result, they’re on the move and less cautious, which has shown an increase in wildlife collisions typically in this time of year.

According to statistics provided by the federation, most vehicle collisions with wildlife are during this season. Last year, drivers in Saskatchewan were in 16,761 collisions with animals, which resulted in 350 injuries and one death. These statistics, Walters said have increased from previous years.

“Moose and deer species typically become more active during twilight hours, so that dusk and dawn times of day,” she explained. “That’s when you’re going to want to be the most cautious, obviously a wildlife collision can happen at any time, but those are times that they tend to be more active.”

She said to avoid collision they recommend three main actions including slowing down your speed because it helps reaction time. It also decreases the force of impact. The second recommendation is to pay attention to the wildlife crossing signs because they’re placed in areas where there is frequent animal movement or where there have been historically a lot of accidents. She added, “basic defensive driving” is also a key component to decrease the odds of a collision.

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“This is good to do anywhere as well, you or your passenger are going to want to keep your eye just occasionally in the ditch for movement,” she said.

Although, if a deer or moose does walk out in front of you, she said there are a couple things the drivers can do to make it less severe. One of the options is to steer into where the animal is coming from not to where it’s going.

“You’re going to want to keep in mind while you’re doing that a lot of these animals travel in groups,” she said.

If possible, she said to try and not hit the animal full on and to hit the brakes but let up on the brake just before the driver hits the animal to prevent the creature from going into the windshield.

She said if there is extensive damage to file an insurance claim. Last year, Sask. residents had over $80 million in insurance claims.

“Extra precautions should always be taken around high-risk areas that are identified by wildlife crossing signs,” said Darrell Crabbe, SWF Executive Director in a media release. “We can greatly reduce potential collisions, injuries, and deaths through additional caution and awareness during this time of the year.”

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panews@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @princealbertnow