blacktail & roadkill
I've recently been reading Blacktail by Scott Hawkins, spoilers ahead.
The book is written from the pov of a wolf-dog (allegedly) hybrid, whose entire life has gotten fucked over by humans. Mom dead. Siblings dead. Wife dead. Unborn kids dead. Goddamn. All these deaths are from human actions.
The one thing that has stuck in my head the most is roadkill. There's an emphasis that life and death are natural phenomenon but the killing of life not for "the hunt" is abhorrent and unnatural.
The fact that so many animals are killed as consequence of humans paving roads through forests and ecosystems. The fact that these deaths are so inconsequential. The fact that these bodies are left to rot and bloat, difficult for even scavengers to get to, and not even returning to the Earth.
The book emphasized that this level of insignificance is what is cruel.
I have passed many corpses of animals on the road, with an initial sad heart, but quickly forgotten. I passed by a dead raccoon on the way back from my mom's house yesterday. I've never seen an alive raccoon in person before.
Anyway, resources on what to do when you see roadkill.
Dead:
- Find something, like a blanket, towel, T-shirt, or piece of cardboard or plastic, to maneuver the animal onto, and move it well off the side of the road or into nearby forest or brush to let nature take its course.
- Don’t touch the animal with your bare hands.
- Observe your surroundings, watching for traffic as well as other animals, especially if you hit a baby animal."
https://givewildlifeabrake.com/what-to-do-if-you-hit-an-animal-while-driving/
Alive:
Stop and pull onto shoulder if able. Call a local wildlife rescue center.
More info on what to do: here
Wildlife rehabilitator Resources by State (US Only): here
I'm likely to stop by my mom's today. If I am, I'm gonna check if that raccoon is still there. I'm sorry buddy.