On Monday 30th July the M4 traffic travelling towards Wales just south of Reading was briefly brought to a complete halt by a swan landing on the motorway. This is an example of wild animals causing dangers to humans in their cars along with deer in this country. In other countries hazards may include elk, bears, wild pigs, elephant and kangaroo, Although high speed encounters with substantial animals can cause human injuries and fatalities, the impact of roads on animals are at a substantially higher order of magnitude. May smaller animals (e.g. otters, hedgehogs, rabbits, toads etc) are killed in substantially high numbers. The fatalities for tiny animals such as insects must be staggering. Of course, some animals such as carrion eaters benefit from the carnage, The swan in question was shooed on to the hard shoulder of the road. I hope it made a successful escape but taking off would have been very difficult.
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