Reader Jason advises us …
About the photo:
A little furry creature had made tracks in the snow on the west side of the MUP but it seems it never made it across to the other side.
I only took the photo since it was the first time I’ve ever seen roadkill on a pedestrian pathway and since some fresh snow was falling it must have happened less than an hour earlier (during rush hour).
(The deceased is visible in the front right corner of the picture. It is a mouse/mole/vole or other uncelebrated creature).
As a regular commuter through Bayview station, we’re accustomed to feeling like mice in an ever-changing maze so this sorta feels like we’ve stopped out one of our own who was SO CLOSE to succeeding in what so many of desire – taking the 50′ shortcut rather than the 450′ detour.
RIP little one. I’ll be thinking about you should we ever get to walk that line at Bayview before 2019.
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/2018/01/11/bighorn-sheep-grizzly-bears-cameras-capture-wildlife-using-underpasses-andhill-cranes-wildlife-highw/1024603001/
Richard, that is a great link that shows wildlife crossings really work. I have seen many in Europe that are wildlife overpasses. Note that two such crossings are planned for the Trillium Line expansion south towards Leitrim.
Alas, our poor vole did not use the galvinized underpass/drain near this section of MUP.
It’s a vole. As someone recently said on the Ottawa Field Naturalist’s group on Facebook: “voles are God’s way of turning sunshine into owls”. They aren’t very smart, and they have very short life spans. My dog used to catch and eat them along Lebreton Flats (and end up with tapeworm).
Michelle, nature is wonderful, with all life forms having strengths and weaknesses. We may lament the death of a single animal as we sentimental, but their species survival depends on lots of children, most of whom become dinner for someone else. I’m thinking of all those rabbits we see along Scott or the trillium MUP, or chickens, or voles. Maybe even squirrels. Last Sunday I watched some crows chase away an Owl or Hawk with great ruckus.