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Let's talk about the ROAD ECOLOGY episode! (Patreon)

Published:
2023-11-15 19:56:23
Imported:
2026-06

Content

It's up and ready for your ears! Slow down for a wild episode about… road kill! If the thought of critters meeting their roadside demise bums you out (all of us) this episode is for you! Ben Goldfarb has researched this for years among the world’s leading Road Ecologists and he’ll will teach us what happens to roadkill, if you can pick it up, how to avoid a collision, what to do if you’re in one, and strategies all over the globe to protect critters from cars. It’s an important one – especially this time of year – so share it with anyone going on holiday roadtrips!

Also: anyone eat roadkill? Be honest. I wanna hear. And drive safely, kiddos.

Onward,

Ol’ Dadward

Files

Road Ecology (ROAD KILL) with Ben Goldfarb - alie ward

Deer in headlights! Alligators in crosswalks! A possum in the oven? If you love wildlife, this is a must-listen to avoid killing critters with your car.

Comments

SoloSebastian Asi

Hello Allie I became a patreon recently your podcasts are the best!

Kpelliss

My brother in law is an avid hunter...lived in Alaska for years and eats everything he hunts. He is now in his 60's. His first kill was roadkill. A deer that was still warm ..... loaded it on the car, stopped and got some tags, took it to a butcher and turned much of it into steaks .... I am told it was delicious. Also, we live in Baja for half the year and do not drive at night. Roadkill is more likely to come in the form of a cow and will kill you. Safety first!

Audrey Hudak

What really happens to deer when they see headlights? Explain the "deer in the headlights" phenomenon please.

Lizzy Martinez

Interested in listening to this episode given having experienced hitting a poor deer at night in the dark Napa, CA county roads in 2012.

JENN 'Benthopelagic squirrel' ALVAREZ

My bestie texted me "how do I pick up roadkill without looking like a serial killer ?" Me: "I think I said that recently !" Her: yeah Oligies! Me: yes, of course 😂😂 I have 37 min left!

Austin Broadwater

I loved this episode. I’ve got a couple friends in a text group that send each other pics whenever we find a cool dead thing and there’s definitely been some interesting finds on the road.

DeWaine Tollefsrud

Yes, I have eaten roadkill. Only moose though. Alaska has a program that allows permitted organizations (here they define an organization as 2 people over the age of 18) to salvage roadkill. After a vehicle strike the troopers will call the next people on the list they have. You have a 2 hour (I think) window of time in which to get to the site and pick up your animal. There is a LOT of good meat on even a small adult. https://dps.alaska.gov/AWT/Roadkill

Austin Broadwater

Also, just as a comment, another good way to prevent roadkill (especially off hawks and owls) is to not throw your banana peels, apple cores, etc. out of car as it draws rodents to the edge of the road making them more vulnerable and their predators.

Donoiw

I got to hear my voice alongside Dad Ward's. 🤩 Best. Episode. Ever. ☺️🥰 I'm not even distracted by how much I dislike the sound of my own voice. Also, I will drive slower at night and go to bed earlier. 😊

Melissa Hart

Oh wow, thank you for this. We hit a deer a few years ago; it died, and we amost died, as well. I'm sending this podcast to my teen who just started driving. Also, I used to volunteer at the local raptor center, and I know that some centers will feed their birds roadkill as long as there's no indication of poisoning or gunshot.

Aly V

The pathways of migrating butterflies (especially the painted lady and monarch butterflies in California) cross roadways and butterflies will often die en masse on windshields and bumpers of the many fast moving vehicles. How much of an impact does this have on the populations? Did we see a noticeable difference in 2020 when there were fewer cars on the road during migration season?

JENN 'Benthopelagic squirrel' ALVAREZ

Oh, Alie! I found an ologite in the wild today! On bsky. You should post over there so I can delete X. And bc PLEASE. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Comet Sans (edited)

Comment edits

2026-09-06 05:00 Okay as a cyclist: biking is NOT a surefire way to reduce your risk of roadkill. Thank god I have really good breaks because I have SO MANY squirrels try to throw themselves under my front wheel and almost hit a deer on a backwoods bike trail. 😰 Its also unfortunately, a way to make it more likely *you* will become the roadkill instead. Source: I was hit and run within 1 week of buying my bike 🙃
2023-11-15 20:38

Jo Alexander

This one time on Valentine’s Day, my sweetie and I went to a friend’s yome (mashup of yurt and geodesic dome) and our friend fed us deer heart from a roadkill deer that another friend had procured via the local game warden. It was fried in bear fat (our friend hunted the bear), with carrots and cabbage and it was delicious.

Ben Kmo

I had a roadkill role reversal when a deer knocked me off my bike. It was jumping out of the roadside ditch, and it was also 3 am because I worked in a bakery. When I was a kid, my dad and the other bio professor nerds he worked with would pick up roadkill for their dermestid beetle colony… surprisingly, this did not embarrass his also nerdy children 🤣

Darren Bush

There's a town in Door County, Wisconsin called Bailey's Harbor. There is a very specific sort of habitat that supports the Hine's Emerald dragonfly, and the speed limit through the town of Bailey's Harbor is lowered to protect them from radiators of death. I'm an amateur odontologist and I hate finding dragonflies in radiators. They can get out of the way if the cars are going slow.* Which leads me to my question: Are there any statistics on the effects of motor vehicles on insect mortality? I'm sure it's not as bad as rodents and mustids and such, but I see a lot of bugs on a lot of bumpers. *Dad joke: What's the last thing to go through an insect's mind as it hits a windshield? Its butt.

Darren Bush

I had a turkey attack me on my bike. An ornithologist friend told me it might have been the reflectors on my wheels, but I think turkeys just hate people. And thanks to Dad and colleagues for recycling raccoons. Did you get to keep the skull? Too cool.

Darren Bush

Waste not, want not, and moose is delicious.

Alie Ward

Thank you so much! It's appersheeated!

Alie Ward

Wow! Is it economic, health, or sustainability motivated? The deer experts from the Cervidology episode both hunt and a lot of conservationists do as well, which I was surprised by!

Alie Ward

and I love their reasons why...

Alie Ward

We do discuss this in the episode!

Alie Ward

Oh thank you for this, I'll give it a watch

Alie Ward

What did you do after the collision? Were you hurt at all?

Alie Ward

Aahahah, yes it's a great question of yours!

Alie Ward

I recently saw a mummified raccoon on some railroad tracks. What's your weirdest?

Alie Ward

Yes, Ben mentions this in the episode! So much meat on a moose!

Alie Ward

Oh that's so so smart and good to know!

Alie Ward

Thank you so much for the question!! I don't think you've put any road ecologists out of work, ahahaha!

Alie Ward

Oh wow! I'm glad you survived. That sounds terrifying.

Alie Ward

We didn't tough much on insect migrations, but as a Californian I know exactly what you're talking about!

Alie Ward

I do need to get my ass back on BluSky! I kept chasing people to Threads and BluSky and Mastodon and it got CONFUSING

Alie Ward

Holy shit, I did NOT know that! The way I ride bikes has never posed an issue because I am not good at bikes. Please be careful out there!

Alie Ward

Nice get of the deer! and now I have to google YOME HOMES

Alie Ward

WHAT THE FUCK, I did not know this could happen.

Alie Ward

Oh deer, we didn't touch on bugs as much, but that's a great question! Also your Podmom Jarrett's family spent a lot of time in Door County, on Washington Island!

Alie Ward

Oooooohhh, that's for the recc!

Lizzy Martinez

Hey DadWard! Thank you for asking! I was not hurt thankfully. I like to think a guardian angel was on my side because I was on a two lane road with deep ditches. I kept control of the wheel and the deer slid off my hood and right side of my car, kinda going up and over and then ran off. I pulled over and called my friend I was going to see, bawling my eyes out that I hit Bambi. I still think of it and have been super careful when driving in the dark in areas since then. The car had some scratches from the fur and the front bumper was dented but we got it punched out lol no service needed! It was a 2007 Mazda 3 and she was driven for another ten or so years by my brother.

Theresa Carey

Alie, you made one tiny boo-boo when talking about the deer in Japan. The island you were talking about is Miyajima. Nara is inland a bit, in the vicinity of Kyoto. There are hundreds of tiny deer in Nara, and they will accost tourists and ask for food. The deer will bow to you, which is cute. I have hilarious photos of my kids bowing to deer during a visit to Nara ~25 years ago. You can get to Miyajima via a ferry after a short train ride from Hiroshima. Some of the deer you’ll find on the island ride the ferry back and forth, accepting food from the travelers. Yes, I have some photos of this too. There are people who work on the ferry who do what they can to stop the deer from getting on, but they are not always successful.

Austin Broadwater

I would say probably a Rough-legged Hawk I found on a roadside. Assuming it had been clipped, but it was still in such perfect condition that I asked the local park if they wanted it for taxidermy. But since they were closed by the time I found the bird, I actually had it in my freezer for a day or two before I brought it in 😅. Unfortunate circumstances but such a gorgeous specimen!! Also, found a beaver one time. It was so neat to see its tail up close!

Donoiw

I'm glad they're safe.😊 Thank you for doing what you do. There's not enough space here for me to express my gratitude. Thank you. 😌

Kpelliss

I think initially it was a Boy Scout badge...later in life it was economic. The BIL liked caribou in particular in Alaska, he made a delicious 'Bo-Salami.

Kellaby

I’m a wildlife carer not in Tasmania but in Australia something like 95% of our joeys come in because of car incidents. People do seem to be getting better at stopping to do pouch checks though, at least for macropods. It was nice to hear our volunteer sector mentioned!

Natasha Stroebl

Wasn't sure I'd be able to handle this conversation when I saw the title (too depressing), but, your intro has convinced me that it will be awesome, as are all your episodes. Also, I have to chime in that I have roadkill bear jerky in the fridge at the current moment. Usually my husband and I eat plant-based, but when his aunt offered roadkill bear, we couldn't pass it up.

Sleepy John

I posted a link to this episode on a FB Wolfenoot group. Because it was needed.

Francesca Hernandez-Singer

When I had a farm in Texas, I always used to joke that my dream was for someone driving in front of me to hit a deer and leave it so that I could harvest it. One day, my volunteer showed up and told me someone had just hit a deer on my road, voila! She helped me load it into my truck and I had venison for a year! Dreams do come true.

Jenny Lowe Rhodes

One of the best meals I ever had was eating that mean turkey whose pen I had to cross for months on the way to use the outhouse.

Abby Grieb

Great episode! Did anyone else laugh at the “massive squishings” quote?

Theresa Carey

Me! To be honest, I was also cringing.

Gene Phillips

I am 71 now. When I was young, the roadkill in rural south Georgia was handled by turkey vultures, which we called buzzards. Many years later, it became more and more common to see crows dominating the roadkill market, although the vultures weren't completely gone. I have wondered why from time to time.

John Ratterree

Great episode! Reminds of my time in college dating an entomology major and a hot date would be to go road kill flipping so she could collect carrion beetles.

Susannah Ball

I was listening to this very episode while riding my bike home from work. It was pitch dark and I was in a section of my ride that goes through a forest preserve on a bike trail. I was listening with intense fascination when BAM a huge deer jumps right out in front of me. I skidded to a stop and we were both a little startled but continued on our evening travels. And I thought damn what are the odds. That’s my story, awesome episode as always.

Jude Sullivan

I found myself feeling deep relief upon hearing that people eat roadkill. As a vegetarian, it feels like a beautiful way to honor an animal that has passed on in such a violent way. I’m all for roadkill death with dignity!

Alie Ward

Let me know what you thought of the episode!

Alie Ward

YESSSSS! 11/23/23! Get your moon cakes ready!

Alie Ward

Nice find! Better than it going to rot or a landfill. Was it badly damaged at all?

Alie Ward

Takes guts to describe guts that way,

Alie Ward

That's interesting! Crows are maybe more adapted to the environment of human development!

Alie Ward

Whooooa! And here I am, naively suggesting bike rides never encounter critter collisions!

Alie Ward

I'm glad it... hit you that way. I was surprised that PETA had a statement about it, and was relieved to see it highlighting the merits as an alternative to factory farming.

Francesca Hernandez-Singer

Astonishingly…no! Almost no internal bleeding and no ruptured organs, except a lung. I suspect the blunt force caused cardiac arrest and broke a front leg and some ribs. Full disclosure: I was only going to cut off the head to save the skull, but when I cut, it bled, and I knew it was fresh enough to eat.

Gene Phillips

Not a lot of new buildings, but certainly more cars and trucks on the road, so you may be right.

Merryn Lush

I inadvertently participated in a mass squishing once. It’s was truly upsetting.

Jessamy Ritchie

I'd not thought about the ethical meat harvesting, and meat quality aspects of eating roadkill, love it. Brava once again DadWard!

Sleepy John

My father's end was a naturalist who did demos for schools, he had an amazing collection of road-kill skulls and skeletons. A zoo gave him a boar that had killed itself by ramming its head into the bars of its enclosure and breaking its own skull. One day he found a bald eagle by the side of the road, and it broke his heart that he wasn't Native American and couldn't collect the feathers.

Jennifer Chaput

Can we get a citation for the paper about reintroducing cougars in the northeast? I live in New England and I have a big interest in this. I also am a cougar truther in the I believe there are some here even though I know it makes me sound crazy! I have friends who also believe. Call us Mulder lol.

McKenna Pace

Awesome episode! I just wanted to let all my fellow Utahns know that the state is trying to keep track of roadkill data to better inform management decisions. You can contribute via the Utah Roadkill Reporter app. 🙂

Diane Heise

There are still a lot of buzzards, I see them daily soaring the sky above my house. Southern Kentucky

Ann Marie Wierzbicki

Oh how wonderfully full your interviews are. You have hit directly on my current situation in our community here in Goulais River Ontario. I just shared this to my community with great hope we will find a solution to our invasion of a moose breeding territory. And, oooh my heavens there was a question about collecting skulls, bones etc. Says the old woman with a desiccated possum in her collection.

George Sakoulas

Great episode. As I was listening to the eating roadkill conversation, I wanted to caution to eating animals near a road that are assumed to be roadkill. The animal could have died of disease. Tularemia is a bacterial infection that can be acquired by handling infected animals or eating undercooked infected meat.

Gene Phillips

I have seen them in south Georgia, too, on short trips back home, but I haven't lived there in decades, so I had no real idea of their current number. I am very happy to hear that there are so many. Maybe, they have made a comeback, or maybe the crows just sort of took over here and there, including the road I most frequently travel.

BolognaShoes

I know someone who collects roadkill and has a *compost* pile for it at his house (in a city neighborhood, mind you) so that he can harvest the bones for his artwork. It's very cool.

Paulina Krasińska-Sroka

Interesting episode! Surprisingly USA-centric when you think about it: pretty much every question about what to do in case of a roadkill and especially eating it, has a very different answer both in Poland and Germany where I live.

Katie D

Omg if I had known Road Ecology was Ben I would have asked a question!!! I'm currently reading Crossings and loved his book Eager because it introduced me to beavers, which are now the focus of PhD research!!! I'm just obsessed with the way Ben writes - I wish we had heard more about his journey into science writing in general!

Kristen Butler

I loved Eager!! I’m definitely checking this one out now! Thanks!

Kristen Butler

Not related to roadkill but I have to know- is the sound bite of a guy saying “Boy Howdy” why Alie says Boy Howdy? I’ve always wondered how you picked up that phrase; it’s one of my favorite Alie-isms!

Elina Heine

Listened to this episode just before a trip to the Canadian Rockies. I was able to see the wildlife overpasses in Banff National Park! And stunned my wife with all the info. Keep up with the awesomeness!

Design 83

So many secrets this time. I feel like you’ve earned super-secret-confidant level. I Seriously love the podcast and am so sad when each episode comes to its conclusion. The secrets are a great off-topic bonus, though. I can hardly wait for the next episode. Thank you so much!

Alie Ward

Oh noooo! What species, dare i ask?

Alie Ward

oh that makes me so happy -- I was surprised that PETA had a statement on it and i found it so helpful.

Alie Ward

We chat about this in Indigenous Fashionology: that the Migratory Bird Act's feather collection prohibition was in part launched to prevent Native people from collecting feathers for their traditional clothing an regalia. It's about 26 minutes into this episode: https://www.alieward.com/ologies/indigenousfashionology

Alie Ward

Sure thing: Sophie L. Gilbert et al., "Socioeconomic Benefits of Large Carnivore Recolonization through Reduced Wildlife-Vehicle Collisions," Conservation Letters 10 (2017): 431-439; and Jennifer L. Raynor, Corbett A. Grainger, and Dominic P. Parker, "Wolves Make Roadways Safer, Generating Large Economic Returns to Predator Conservation," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 118, no. 22 (2021).

Alie Ward

Oh that's awesome! Way to go, Utah!

Alie Ward

I have a raccoon skull that's waiting to be boiled. Hello, friend. Tell your community folks I say hello!

Alie Ward

Great warning, yes! I hope that folks look for local hunting groups to learn more about the ecology in their region and what to look for.

Alie Ward

Does he have dermestid beetles?!

Alie Ward

what is the answer where you live? And yes, in the US we have highways on highways on highways

Alie Ward

He volunteered to come back for a Beaver episode. and if we ever cover it with a different Castorologist, I can always insert an update with Ben about his science writing!

Alie Ward

No, I just found someone saying it! I have no idea where it came from or how long I've been saying it but usually it means "holy fucking shitfuck"

Alie Ward

No waaaayyyy! I bet that was stunning! So glad we fit into your trip somehow!

Alie Ward

Awww thank you so so much! There's also an Easter egg in those secrets: I loved this podcast called Uhh Yeah Dude and at the end of every episode they say "Seatbelts." so if you listen to the end of Road Ecology I snuck in "uh, yeah dude. Seabelts" in homage.

Paulina Krasińska-Sroka

Let's start with two facts: 1) there's no easy access to guns so hunting is rare (you need two separate license: one for gun, one for hunting within your club), 2) law assumes governments ownership of the wildlife, especially in national parks and such. Those result in different approach to roadkill. It's mandatory to call appropriate services (police, park rangers, even firefighters, and yes - 112 will be ok), mainly because animal might need help and not providing that help can result in a fine. It's also generally assumed that you can't eat roadkill. Explanation twofold: 1) It still belongs to government and you should pay a certain tax to get it for yourself (that of course doesn't stop some people that don't alert authorities like they should and collect the animal for themselves). 2) Any wild animal killed for food has to be tested. If you're hunting you go through veterinary/lab tests through your hunting club with every animal killed. If you want to eat roadkill you should get those tests done as well (I don't know the procedure in this case). We're also told that wild animals carry high risk of dangerous parasites and diseases like rabies, and therefore are not safe to eat without testing is first. And there was also something about the method of death that could make roadkill more prone to dangerous bacteria...? I never understood exactly what's happening in that case, it was something about internal bleeding-out instead of external... You'd need to find a food safety expert to clarify! Cheers!

BolognaShoes

Yes, but also at one point had so much road kill, he needed the pile too. 😳🙃

Design 83

That’s so awesome! Happy Thanksgiving! Have a great weekend!

Merryn Lush

So very many frogs. The road ran along a river and they were froggering en masse along the entire length - like several kilometres. I cringe cried the whole way

Ted Vician

One thing that didn’t come up in the episode is the relationship between wildlife and motorcyclists. Hitting a deer with your car is an insurance claim. Hitting one on your motorcycle is a very different problem.

Gregor

I've had more than one close encounter with deer whilst bicycling the roads of west Sonoma County. It's a legit fear!

Gregor

After I stopped collecting roadkill (for the sheer curiosity of dismantling it and saving skeletons for artist friends), I have continued pulling over so I could haul the remains farther off the roadway, thereby helping reduce the risk of road strikes to other scavengers (and increase the chances of those scavengers getting an honest meal instead of watching helplessly as the buffet goes home with someone who won't eat it). And yeah, I've eaten roadkill when I've found a freshie, and I surely shall again.

mickakov

As a European, I've never realised the vast range of animals that can get killed on roads in the US! In my 30+ years, I'd only ever seen cats, foxes and badgers. It's quite funny that none of these were even mentioned!

Hope J 🏳️‍🌈

Thank you for this episode! I came into it concerned that it would be sad, but I appreciated the discussion about prevention. The only animal I’ve ever killed was a squirrel when I was driving near my house. It ran across the road right in front of me and I couldn’t stop in time. I went home and cried for many minutes and felt horrible. For weeks afterwards I drove sooo slowly down that road and made sure to wait for squirrels to cross so I wouldn’t hit another one. Has anyone else noticed that when they see a form in the distance on the road, they can’t not look at it to see if it’s an animal? You’re just setting yourself up for heartbreak.

Natasha Stroebl

I liked the episode! Thank you! To follow up on the roadkill bear jerky: My husband and I put it out at a house party and our guests loved it. Serving it was a great opportunity to talk about your podcast and the ethics of meat!

Natasha Stroebl

I do the same thing. I want to tell myself that whatever object on the road is just garbage and that I shouldn't look, but...

Alie Ward

Oooooh, great point. In the genicular traumatology episode and the Witchology episode we talk about dangers to motorcyclists. My husband, your podmother, rode one for years and frankly I was always so scared for getting a grim phone call.

Alie Ward

Thank you for caring for other motorists -- but be careful as you do it! We don't want someone hauling you into their pickup and making jerky out of you.

Alie Ward

Oh that's so true -- we never mentioned badgers or even the Southern US armadillo.

Alie Ward

Those poor squirrels. My sister once was driving back from my aunt's house with my dad, and they were on a narrow stretch of rode over a river delta, with nothing but water after the shoulders. Somehow a possum was in the road and my dad knew that veering would send their car into the river, so he had no choice but to hit it. My sister told the story like my dad said mournfully "Oh possum...... sorry, possum."

Gregor

"It's how he always wanted to go."

Ashlee Dent

Loved the episode, definitely gave me a lot to think about on my very long, very rural drives to work and back…. And I can’t believe I’m 32 and just now understanding why the chicken crosses the road… 🤦‍♀️ thanks alie! You’re doing a true community service out here 👏

Melissa Croce

Popping on here to say I thought of this episode this morning when I learned that the Biden Admin. just announced that $110 million will be put towards improving 19 wildlife road crossings across 17 states and four Native tribes 🥳 That’s not nothing!

Nayomi Santos

Hopping on here to let everyone know that Ben wrote a great article on rewilding roads within National Parks in the March 2024 Smithsonian Magazine. I saw his byline and thought “why does that name sound familiar?” LOL