Rob Found, a PhD candidate and wildlife researcher associated with the University of Alberta, agrees that whistles are marketed on flawed evidence.
“The bottom line is they don’t work.
“They’ve done a number of tests on these whistles, and a lot of them are actually outside the range of the hearing of deer or other ungulates that would be on the roads. Another problem is they tend to be a low frequency, and the volume really blends into the noise of the vehicles and the highway noise in general, so they really don’t jump out as an alarm.”
So what can you do to avoid a collision?
Understanding when you’re most likely to hit a deer is important.
“Night isn’t actually such a bad time to be driving, but dawn and dusk are horrible. That’s when deer and other ungulates are most active and focused on eating, so they’re not paying much attention to the roadway. For a motorist, visibility is also terrible at that time if you’re driving into the sun,” says Found, who is currently studying elk behaviour in Banff.
Avoiding deer also means considering the particular times of year when they’re most active. “In places with a seasonal climate, such as Edmonton, we see a peak in collisions in June near the calving season for deer because the mothers have to eat a lot to nurse their young,” he said.
“But in all jurisdictions where these collisions are recorded, they find a major peak in late fall and early winter. That’s the mating season for deer, movement rates increase dramatically and the males tend to get so focused on mating that they’re really reckless near roads.”
Maintaining a speed appropriate for driving conditions is always important, and this includes peak wildlife periods.
“From an individual driver standpoint, the best thing you can do is be alert in areas where deer are prevalent, and during peak periods,” says Rader.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/glob...vent-collisions-with-wildlife/article4104175/
