Fast vehicles, dusk and dark bison: A mix for disaster
Motorists need to slow down and watch for bison as days get shorter, says N.W.T. wildlife manager
The driver in a collision Monday evening between a passenger truck and a bison appears to have walked away, but the truck was totalled and a bison killed.
It's a risk that increases as the days get shorter, says Adrian Lizotte, wildlife manager for the North Slave region, with the N.W.T. Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
"This time of year we see people used to driving on the highway with 24-hour sunlight," says Lizotte. "Now, in the fall, things are getting dark and it's difficult to see a big dark black bison standing in the middle of the road at night."
Since 2007, there have been one to 30 bison collisions every year on the highway between Fort Providence and Behchoko.
"Some of these animals could be up to 2,000 pounds [900 kilograms]," says Lizotte. "They can cause serious damage or life-threatening injuries.
"Be careful not to overdrive your headlights. Stay in the speed limit."
Lizotte says bison are natural herding animals, so if a driver sees one there is a good chance there will be more in the area — up to 20 or 30 if females and calves are together.
Myth buster
There was a time when a driver might count on seeing no bison between Yellowknife and Frank Channel, near Behchoko. If that was ever true, Lizotte says, it certainly isn't true anymore.
"Maybe five or six years ago there wasn't any report of bison past Frank Channel [toward Yellowknife], but from then ... sometimes animals do come on this side towards Yellowknife."
Lizotte says about three years ago a bison was hit by a semi-truck just 30 or 40 kilometres outside of the city.
Remember to report
Drivers who hit a bison are obligated to report the incident to wildlife authorities within 24 hours.
There are no charges, Lizotte says, for hitting a bison — but failing to report a collision is a violation of the Wildlife Act and could result in a court date.
Lizotte says officers want to make sure there's nothing on the scene that needs attending to, and that the animal does not suffer unnecessarily.
"We just want to make sure people are safe and sound," says Lizotte.
"If the animal is salvageable then an officer will go out [and] put the animal down. At least we can salvage the meat and bring it back to a local community."