African Wildlife & Environment Issue 79

LETTERS

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Your opinion is highly valued and welcome. Please send your feedback, letters, comments and suggestions to editor@wessa.co.za

Roadkill in the countryside I recently undertook a trip to the Western Cape, determined to avoid the main national roads, something I hadn't done in a long time. Whilst it was great to be able to see our fantastic countryside from a different perspective I was horrified by the number of roadkill carcasses I encountered along the way. One particular stretch of road, namely between Smithfield and the Gariep Dam, was particularly bad.The number of dead, what I identified as probably being Cape Fox and possibly some Bat-eared Fox as well, was staggering. What was equally bad was the number of flattened Spotted Eagle-Owls on the road. The thing that disturbed me most was the sight of

an injured owl with what looked like a broken wing perched on the road verge, looking at me as I approached it. I was heartbroken at the sight, mostly because I wasn't in any position to help the bird because of the time frames allocated to my travel plans. I have been aWESSA member for many years and have never sent anything in the form of a letter to the editor but in this instance felt compelled to do so. I fully understand the difficulty in avoiding these nocturnal friends of ours in our vehicles travelling at speed, but nevertheless was incredibly saddened by the casualties I witnessed. The area I reside in KZN has a dedicated raptor rehabilitation centre as well as other organisations that will accept and rehabilitate injured birds and animals, and I was wondering

Spotted Eagle Owl (Photograph: Albert Froneman)

6 | African Wildlife & Environment | Issue 79 (2021)