Wildlife Collisions In California Up 20%, Cost $276M In 2016

The number of deer and other large animals killed or injured by California motorists jumped 20 percent in 2016 in accidents that killed five people, led drivers to put themselves in harm’s way trying to save the animals, and cost society about $276 million, a new study shows. About 7,400 animals were killed or injured in collisions last year, up from 5950 in 2015, the first year that the UC Davis Center for Road Ecology began using data from the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to track wildlife collisions and their costs. “The CHP is saying people are very upset, concerned and even putting themselves in harm’s way to ensure that injured animals are taken care of,” said Fraser Shilling, co-director of the UC Davis Road Ecology Center and the report’s co-author.