Today I participated in one of the grossest jobs in Utah (a thread.) Also, do not view the following photos or videos if you have a weak stomach or are eating (you’ve been warned)

We’ve all seen dead deer or other wildlife on the side of the road. But unless you’ve done it, you don’t understand the stomach-turning grossness that is removing those animals (read: I dry heaved 7 times.)

How does it work? When people see a dead deer in their backyard, on the road, in a park, etc. they report it to either @UtahDWR or the local police (who then pass it along to us.) Our crews then map out a route each day and go pick up these animals.

The majority of wildlife our crews pick up are deer, but they also occasionally have to pick up moose or elk as well. It is smelly, physically taxing work. Some of the animals are so heavy they can’t be manually dragged. So we utilize a winch system to load them

Before today, I figured that this roadkill removal was only needed once in awhile. But along the Wasatch Front, we have a crew that does this 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. They average removing 200 animals a month (and that’s just in one of our 5 regions!)

And that doesn’t even include the work of @UDOTTRAFFIC who does the removal along the major highways and freeways throughout the state! So what happens to all these dead animals? Most are too decomposed to utilize so they are dumped in a landfill at the end of each day

Some of the dead animals that are in good enough condition are donated to @HogleZoo where they are fed to the lions and other big cats. We always like being able to utilize wildlife when possible and this partnership has been great

Along with being physically exhausting and disgusting, this work can also be dangerous since a lot of the removal occurs along (or across) busy highways. (This is an entrance highway to I-80). So keep an eye out for these crews & give them space!

Also remember to be patient if you report an animal & it isn’t picked up immediately. As mentioned, there are hundreds removed every month & our crews are working as fast as they can every day. Also, if you don’t give a good address, sometimes our crews can’t find the deer

Also deer can often get impaled or caught on these types of fences when jumping over them, so keep that in mind as you are planning your landscape

And lastly, while @UtahDWR & @UDOTTRAFFIC and other partners are working to install wildlife crossings around the state to reduce wildlife/vehicle collisions, drivers also need to be alert and watch for deer on the road, especially when you see these signs

November is the time of year with the most deer/vehicle collisions due to several factors including it’s their breeding season so they are more active, they are migrating to lower-elevation winter feeding ranges & the daylight hours are shorter. So stay alert when driving!

So here’s a salute to our unsung heroes keeping our roads and neighborhoods less smelly. (Gag-reflex warning: This video is the grossest of them all. Apparently maggots are still a thing when it’s cold fall weather.) /end