Roadkill... or "sleeping animals"

What do you think of when you hear the word "roadkill"- or as Jenne tells her children "sleeping animals"? Living most of my life in the Phoenix area, when I hear "roadkill" I think "cat"... or "rabbit"... or "coyote"... or sometimes "dog" (because dogs are just smarter than cats!). As we traveled across the United States, the kinds of roadkill changed- we saw armadillos, raccoons, beavers, snakes, a variety of birds and a few deer and coyotes. I began to wonder what kind of roadkill we would see in our new state and what happens to these hapless creatures after they become "flat meat." And lest you think otherwise, I am apparently not alone in thinking about roadkill as there are several "Roadkill Cafes" across our country that serve only roadkill... and "Roadkill Bingo" is a favorite car game among many road tripsters- redneck or not.

According to 2009 data from the US Census Bureau, Phoenix is in Maricopa County (9,203 square miles) and has 437 people per square mile. Columbia is in the smaller Howard County (252 square miles) but has a higher population density of 1,118 people per square mile. Given that statistical data, I expected roadkill in Columbia to be similar to Phoenix roadkill- in other words, domestic animals with the occasional bunny or squirrel (since we have a LOT of squirrels here). However, reality did not support my expectation.

In an effort to learn the roads and find my way around, I have spent many hours driving around Columbia. I have seen lots of roadkill- but surprisingly few cats and no dogs or coyotes. I have seen many squirrels and quite a few raccoons. But the animal that surprises me every time I see one by the side of the road is...

...a deer!

This road, a divided parkway with intersections, is on my way to Target. There are neighborhoods just past the wooded area and LOTS of traffic. And yet, I've seen several dead deer along this stretch of road - and more on other roads!

More than 3000 deer are killed by cars in the Washington, D.C. area every year. State troopers and the Department of Transportation for each state are responsible for their removal from the roadways. What happens to the carcasses has changed over the years. In the 1960-70's they were taken to area zoos to be fed to the large cats. Fear of spreading disease and parasites led to the demise of that practice and roadside burial (the three-man burial teams created new jobs... but that's another topic) became common. As housing developments grew, this practice also fell by the wayside and was replaced with... composting! Maryland transportation crews began experimenting with deer composting in 2001, using the composted material to fertilize wildflowers along the roadways. (Since then, "roadkill composting" has generated interest in many other states, including Arizona.) Some counties dispose of the carcasses in landfills (can we say, "ICKY!") or deposit them back in the forests for other animals to scavenge before the remains completely decompose back to the forest or sell them to companies that make chicken feed out of them or incinerate them. I like composting the best- it's environmentally friendly and so far has not contributed to any disease threat.

I have previously described our neighborhood as "rural meets urban" and in many ways it is just that. Symphony Woods, a deeply forested picnic area with trails is just across the street from The Mall at Columbia and two high-density apartment complexes. Wooded areas butt up to nearly every major street making it impossible to see Costco, for example, less than a quarter of a mile beyond the road. Several rivers and many creeks and streams wind through an area with roughly 14 times as many people as reside in Maricopa County, Arizona. I should be surprised that there are not more dead deer by the side of the road.