The thought was first provoked through a conversation that circled around different emotional feelings upon the deaths of different types of animals. As a forefront disclaimed, be aware that I in NO WAY support the killing of animals, I am not saying that it is better to kill some animals than others, or anything of that nature (punned). Rather, I hope to express and raise question with regards to how the average person carries a different emotional load depending upon the animal in question.
According to Wikipedia, the definition of roadkill is “an animal or animals that have been struck and killed by motor vehicles”. While this conversation is not limited to that domain, it is where we will begin. It is clear that different global regions will experience different animals, and I will attempt to address that later, but I will begin with my home and the majority of my experience in the United States northeast. Here, many of the common animals that are seen on the roads include squirrels, deer, raccoons, opossums, and skunks.
So where do emotions play a role? For me, I always* feel sad (to some extent...usually) when I see an animal on the side of the road. However, I harbor close to no remorse for the squirrels. I have for a long time believed that they are steadily attempting to conquer the world through means of car-swerve-collisions. As it turns out, the word squirrel as derived from roots meaning “shadow-tailed”. While this is most commonly believed to be a result of the large shadow cast by the small creatures’ bushy tails, some of us believe the little guys hide in those shadows to strike from the darkness.
The other animals on my local list can be explained much quicker. Deer are large and for some reason, that yields a larger sense of grief. Raccoons can be cute, but are generally mischievous and I’ve had to clean up way too much spilled trash in my day. Opossums are unfortunate and lead to sadness, but they are a more rare sight for me. Skunks however cause me close to no emotional turmoil for the same reason twice. First, I never actually see them but only smell them. Second, I smell them. They smell bad…
Some of my clauses here have begged the questions of what leads a person to feel worse for one animal than another. Are they larger; smaller? Did you actually see the animal? Do you have a past history with the animal; positive or negative? Who did the hitting and was it actually with a motor vehicle? If not, it was likely intentional... Let’s examine some other animals and common emotional responses.
Take a moment to consider some insects. I think most insects are killed without a second thought. Mosquitoes, house flies and black flies are all pesky bloodsuckers and I’ve often assigned them all point values for killing. Cockroaches often get a second thought, but that’s mostly a result of sheer size rather than emotional attachment. Other insects however are, at times, valued. Lady bugs are often encouraged to land on us for luck and a cricket in one’s boat is considered lucky. Well, then you might confuse the cricket for a locust swarm and it eats your home. Those ones can go…
So insects lead to an interesting dichotomy of feelings. Does it bite you or does it bring you luck? Is it large or small – not that this always relates to emotion but is still a consideration. There is similar turmoil within single types as well. Consider spiders – some people love them, others hate them. Me, I like them.
How about some reptiles and amphibians? Snakes are commonly seen killed on the sides of highways or especially bike paths. Snake enthusiasts I apologize but I think on average this goes unnoticed. Turtles are unfortunately slow in their road crossings and certainly lead to feelings of regret. Is this once again a product of size? Or is it a product of mobility?
A return to mammals is where the lists become interesting. While I won’t go type per type, consider some small mammals including mice, rats, squirrels, bats, and rabbits. While they may not all be seen equally often, most of these go without too much sorrow in their wake. Is it because they aren’t noticed (either before or after)? Or perhaps it is because many of these are considered pests if they are not strictly pets (note that I believe if any of these were pets, of one was a pet owner of one of these types of animals you might feel differently). For instance, a stray mouse in the house (rhymed) is often left a gift in the form of a small spring loaded trap. Certain family members of mine were recently celebrating their dominance over the small creatures with his “hunting prowess”. One might ask, if the hunting is merely setting a trap, and his next task is to collect the mouse, is he not in fact a gatherer? This jest was not taken lightly...
Let’s consider a step higher in terms of mammal size. Animals here could include dogs and cats (heaven forbid to both!), skunks, opossums, and raccoons. I could not think of another common animal that would fit in this category. I think most of us can agree that the concept of dogs or cats is appalling and likely the first true emotional blow some of us might have imagined in this text. That however might not be true in other countries where those animals are not considered pets or companions. By contrast, skunks through raccoons are seen on roadsides frequently but rarely is a tear shed for them. Is this a result simply of our close living conditions with the prior creatures?
We can go larger still. Consider deer, horses (again – heaven forbid!), bears, moose, and cows. Now things get interesting. This interest is partly a result of the car-animal relationship. Recall that roadkill is defined as “an animal or animals that have been struck and killed by motor vehicles”. While before it was a fairly one-way interaction, now the car begins to loose – particularly in the case of the moose. The moose rarely looses and often does not die, so perhaps should not be listed among “roadkill”, but lets overlook that detail for the time being. I think it rare to hit one of these animals and not feel a sense of sorrow and regret. Is it a result of their sheer size? Perhaps it is their stature. Is it a way for our attempt to miss them and protect ourselves and our car to manifest?
An interesting thought arises out of the idea of a deer though. There are clearly different feelings from different situations. Was the deer full grown or a fawn? Was it alone or part of a heard? Don't forget that there is always another deer... I think it interesting that these factors can change the way one feels about the events that take place. Why do these things trigger different emotional strings?
For those of you from or who frequent Australia, what if you hit a kangaroo? Here in New York the idea sounds ridiculous, but I know that it occurs. For me that would be tragic and emotional, but perhaps down under the kangaroo is my squirrel.
My goal in this writing is not to express that some roadkill, or animal fatalities, are less emotional or upsetting than another. However, I do hope to raise the question of how we feel when we witness it or are aware of it. Why do we feel the way we do? When is an animal a pest and when is it a pal? Why does age play a role when we consider these feelings of ours? What makes some animals hated while others are adored? Sometimes that answer is obvious, but sometimes it is worth some thought.
Again, I do not hope to convince you of my thinking, but do hope I can provoke some thoughts of your own. In the off chance that you have a sick sense of humor (like me) and frequent long and tedious road trips, perhaps you’ll want to look into the following car ride activity…
Roadkill Bingo
