A study shows California’s stay-at-home order in response to the coronavirus outbreak seems to have saved some wildlife, as decreased traffic resulted in fewer collisions with mountain lions, deer and other large animals.
The Road Ecology Center at UC Davis study found traffic declined by about 75% after the emergency order went into effect in March.
The number of animals struck and killed by vehicles also fell, including a 58% decrease in fatal crashes involving mountain lions between the 10 weeks before and 10 weeks after the order.
If the respite continues, California, Idaho and Maine could together see about 5,700 to 13,000 fewer large mammals killed each year and 50 fewer mountain lion deaths per year in California, according to the university.
“There is a statistically significant decline in wildlife deaths on highways in all three states following reductions in traffic this spring,” report author Fraser Shilling said in a news release. “This has not been the case for any of the previous five years for these three states. If anything, there is usually an increase in spring.”
Before stay-at-home orders, more than eight large wild animals were killed by vehicles each day in California. The number fell 21% to 6.6 animals killed each day after the orders.
Mountain lions in particular saw a large decrease in deaths.
“One significant impact of this finding is the clear link between traffic and rates of mountain lion death,” the study reads. “This means that to reduce mountain lion mortality, populations must be protected from traffic, especially in the Bay Area and Southern California where isolated and small populations of mountain lions are at risk of extinction.
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from KRON4 https://ift.tt/3gGPokV
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