The data does not include national parks as those roads are administered by Parks Canada.<\/p>\n
Ruiping Luo, a conservation specialist with the Alberta Wilderness Association, said there could be multiple factors behind the documented increase in fatal collisions, including urban sprawl across Alberta.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you have urban sprawl, you’re seeing increases in the number of roads and the number of places that animals have to cross,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIndirectly, urban sprawl usually means there’s more people, and if there’s more people, there’s often going to be more cars on the road.\u201d<\/p>\n
WATCH | Why February is the worst month for roadkill, according to this retired professor:![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773580808_192_default.jpg\")
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Why February is the worst month for roadkill, according to this retired professor<\/p>\n
As the weather warms up, animals are hungry and frisky after a long winter. CBC\u2019s Stu Mills speaks with recently retired Carleton University professor Michael Runtz about what to look for when you\u2019re driving. <\/p>\n
Beyond being observant, Luo says it can be difficult to mitigate animal-vehicle collisions on an individual level.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor single drivers, it can be very hard to reduce collisions because animals are unpredictable, and those collisions often happen very quickly,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
WATCH | High-speed Highway 1 moose collision captured on camera:![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773580809_364_default.jpg\")
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Moose Collision on the Trans-Canada Highway<\/p>\n
A moose runs out from the shadows of a ditch and strikes a vehicle travelling on the Trans-Canada Highway<\/p>\n
In a statement, Alberta\u2019s Ministry of Transportation and Economic Corridors pointed to investments the province is making.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Government of Alberta remains committed to investing in mitigating animal-vehicle collisions on provincial highways to improve the safety of the traveling public while providing safe crossing locations for wildlife,\u201d the statement reads.<\/p>\n
It highlights spending $11 million on the recently completed Rock Creek Wildlife Underpass near Crowsnest Pass and $17.5 million on the Honourable Peter Lougheed Wildlife Overpass<\/a> east of Canmore.<\/p>\n Actual roadkill numbers could be higher, study suggests<\/p>\n A 2021 study from the Miistakis Institute found the number of animals killed by vehicles could be significantly higher than what\u2019s reported by the province.<\/p>\n Findings from the Calgary-based research organization suggest that over a five-year period along a stretch of highway in the Crowsnest Pass, the number of animals actually killed by vehicle collisions is nearly three times more than what\u2019s reported by Alberta Wildlife Watch.<\/p>\n \u201cUsually [the province] reports on carcasses that are found on the highway right away, but a lot of animals are hit and then they wander off the highway and die later,\u201d said Tracy Lee, director of conservation research with the Miistakis Institute.<\/p>\n Multiple wildlife crossings and fencing projects are underway along that stretch of highway.<\/p>\n Small animals killed by vehicles are also harder to track.<\/p>\n “We have very poor understanding for smaller mammals and amphibian species,\u201d Lee said. \u201cPartly because they’re hard to see, and they disappear very quickly after they’re killed \u2026 so it takes pretty intensive surveying to understand the impact on these smaller species.\u201d<\/p>\n The number of smaller animals recorded by the province has steadily increased over the past five years, while larger roadkill numbers have remained more stable.<\/p>\n “Medium and small bodied animals are significantly more susceptible to seasonal variation in animal carcass records due to seasonal population changes and their susceptibility to scavenging activities,” the government said in its statement.<\/p>\n Aside from mammals, the data also contains carcass records of dead reptiles and birds, including more than 100 birds of prey, such as owls, eagles and hawks.<\/p>\n Nearly 250 dead snakes<\/a> were reported. No amphibians<\/a> were included in the findings.<\/p>\n Lee said reporting roadkill findings on citizen science platforms like iNaturalist can help provide better monitoring for research purposes.<\/p>\n No grizzly roadkill reported, but multiple collisions known to have happened<\/p>\n From 2013 to 2022, vehicle collisions were the leading cause of grizzly bear mortality,\u00a0but no grizzly bear roadkill carcasses were reported by the province in 2025. Two were recorded the year prior.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770481928_794_default.jpg\")
A dead badger photographed along a road near Aden, Alta., north of the Canada-U.S. border. More than 100 badger roadkill carcasses were documented by Alberta Wildlife Watch in 2025. (Chris Fisher)<\/p>\n![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773580811_984_default.jpg\")
Two grizzly bear cubs crossing Highway 40 in Kananaskis Country. Two fatal grizzly bear collisions were recorded by the Alberta Wildlife Watch roadkill carcass report in 2024: one happened on a different stretch of Highway 40 and another on Highway 3 in the Crowsnest Pass. (Amir Said\/CBC)<\/p>\n
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