A recent report from the Alberta Wildlife Watch showcased that 2025 marked the single worst year for roadkill in Alberta in recorded history.In 2025 over 7,400 animals were reportedly struck and killed in the province, an increase of close to 13% from the 2024 number of around 6,600 incidents.A vast majority of these animals were classified as "large-bodied," a definition classified by the province as wolf-sized or larger.This data does not include reports of roadkill from national parks, as roads inside national parks are administered by Parks Canada.Looking into the data, most of the incidents involve deer, with roughly 4,700 of the reported incidents, more than half, involving a vehicle hitting a deer.The reported number is also apparently not even close to the real number of roadkill incidents that have occurred in the province, with smaller mammals and amphibians, like mice and frogs, never getting reported as roadkill incidents due to their size.In the report there were zero mentions of frogs and only 250 reports of snakes..It's not only the size of these animals, which makes their reporting difficult; it is also that small animals like rodents and frogs are usually quickly preyed upon by larger animals after being hit by a vehicle.This has a paradoxical effect as larger animals, like coyotes or vultures, get closer and closer to the road to prey on smaller roadkill they become increasingly more likely to become struck by a vehicle themselves.The number is also likely higher due to the report only being animals that were found dead on the side of the road; the number doesn't include roadkill victims that were able to walk away from the road but then died from their injuries in another location.The Alberta Ministry of Transportation and Economic Corridors put out a statement regarding this increase, stating, "The Government of Alberta remains committed to investing in mitigating animal-vehicle collisions on provincial highways to improve the safety of the travelling public while providing safe crossing locations for wildlife."
