Park Animals Get Grilled, But Not On The Barbecue

Down in the Bear Room at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park, Kerry Gunther has chest freezers full of frozen coyotes, owls, swans. the cut-off shanks of elk and mule deer and even a black bear - each individually wrapped in its own plastic bag.

This is where the park naturalist collects road kills for wildlife research.

Motorists in Yellowstone set a record by killing 148 large animals in 1994, exceeding the average of 108 animals killed annually since 1989, when the Park Service began keeping road-kill records.

But the salvaged carcasses have been useful for bait in trapping problem bears and keeping controversial wolves well-fed last winter.

Gunther’s road-kill statistics are used in road and traffic planning. Speciman samples have been used in Wyoming forensics labs for DNA research aimed at convicting poachers.

, DataTimes