I-84 East between Waterbury and New Britain today had more roadkill littering its margins than I’ve ever seen. Three squirrels within three feet of each other seems excessive even on the edge of a wooded, high-speed highway – not to mention the raw bits of unidentifiable animals that peppered the lanes like some gruesome accumulating-dead feature in Frogger. And 72 West had the remains of a hawk stuck to the left lane line. (One can only assume its carcass joined smaller carrion that had been hit by some previous car.)
What is it with these fall animals? Do they suddenly all go mad with desire to get to greener grass when the weather starts to turn?
Or are they, like us, lazy or apathetic – and just coming to the realization that they haven’t saved enough for the coming winter?
(Don’t worry, squirrels. It’s just a “mental” winter.)
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Actually, you are not far off with your comment about greener pastures. You will tend to see more road kill at certain times of year, for certain animals, depending on their 'cycles' (aka hormones and what they are making the animals want to do). For instance, during male deer rutting season, like any males, these deer are pretty much incapable of actual THOUGHT and therefore tend to become roadkill very easily. The changing season (recently cooler weather) could have triggered something in hoarding animals (such as squirrels) as the leaves begin to change, so there is more activity, leading to increased road kill activity, etc.
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