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Map: Where Animals Become Roadkill in California
On some Los Angeles streets, you can use a smartphone app to report graffiti, potholes and other problems. In the Santa Monica Mountains you can help the National Park Service document invasive plants that need to be eradicated with your smartphone. Now another project from the University of California, Davis, is getting some attention, thanks to the New York Times.
The University of California, Davis, has citizen scientist document roadkill throughout the state. There's no smartphone app yet -- it's being worked on -- but there's been thousands of carion photographed and mapped but a crew of dedicated volunteers.
The purpose of the California Roadkill Observation System to find why and where animals are hit by vehicles, and perhaps, take action in road design or adjustments in the future.
Curbed LA combed the observations, and among the squirrels and coyotes found a landshark. Well, it ended up being a stuffed animal.
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Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
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