Kim Helfrich

A total of 374 incidents of wildlife roadkill in a 30-day period on one stretch of road in a protected area have been recorded. That’s the startling statistic researchers have determined in the country’s first ever research project on this subject.

At the forefront is MSc student Wendy Collinson, who is spending her days tracking long stretches of tarred and gravel road in the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area.

She decided to embark on the research project, in collaboration with the Endangered Wildlife Trust, Tshwane University of Technology and Rhodes University, because there is “very little” research on animal road deaths, particularly not in southern Africa.

“Despite evidence suggesting roads are a major threat to biodiversity, not much is known about the actual impact of roads on wildlife populations,” Collinson said.

“Road density and traffic volumes are on the rise globally and, although huge budgets are allocated to road construction and upgrading, there are little or no allocations to mitigation measures to protect fauna in most countries.

“In almost 100 years, roads have come to dominate most landscapes but animals have not evolved to understand cues that might save them on roads. This makes it critical to conserve and protect wildlife from roads and the death they deal out,” she said.

A 67km stretch of road in Greater Mapungubwe has been under scrutiny for 30 days by Collinson and her team of volunteers, with birds, she said, being “by far the most commonly impacted species”.

kimh@thenewage.co.za