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This Comment builds on Nores et al. by highlighting an overlooked dimension of the proposed European bison introduction in the Iberian Peninsula: the risks posed by roads to both wildlife and human safety. Drawing on evidence from Central and Eastern Europe, we show that traffic‐related mortality can be significant even in well‐managed bison populations. We argue that any rewilding initiative in Iberia must explicitly account for these risks, which challenge both the ecological and social feasibility of such projects.

We used video surveillance at 4 wildlife underpasses along 27 km of Arizona State Route 260, USA, to monitor elk (Cervus elaphus) responses to traffic volume and traffic type during underpass use. Passage rates at the highest traffic category (>10–27 vehicles/min) were not lower than passage rates when no vehicles were present, whereas passage rates at low, intermittent traffic volume (>0–1 vehicles/min) were 15% lower. Once elk entered an underpass, semi-trailer trucks were 4 times more likely than passenger vehicles to cause flight behavior when traffic levels were intermittent versus when traffic was continuous. Overall, traffic volumes of >10–27 vehicles per minute did not decrease the effectiveness of wildlife underpasses as a means of mitigating elk population subdivision. However, if flight away from underpasses at intermediate traffic levels causes elk to cross the highway at other points and thereby increases the potential for costly elk–vehicle collisions, we recommend that managers consider measures to reduce traffic noise and visual stimuli, especially those caused by semi-trailer trucks.

Vehicle collisions kill at least one million ungulates annually in Europe. The number of traffic-killed individuals is usually relatively low for managed species, compared to the annual harvest quota. Therefore, traffic mortality in common ungulate species has historically been seen as a management and traffic safety problem, rather than a conservation issue. However, rare ungulate species, such as European wild forest reindeer (WFR) Rangifer tarandus fennicus , challenge this paradigm. The global population of WFR is approximately 5 300 individuals, divided into three main subpopulations: Suomenselkä and Kainuu in Finland, and N-W Russia. WFR females generally produce only one calf per year, which makes this species particularly vulnerable to any additional source of mortality. Here, we investigate traffic mortality of WFR in Finland. For both Finnish WFR subpopulations we estimated a kill rate (the proportion of individuals killed/struck) and, in relation to their winter population sizes, the collision and traffic mortality rates. Our collision data was collected during 2017-2022 by volunteer hunters and consisted of 390 road traffic collisions (407 WFR individuals), with supplementary data on railway collisions. In total, 259 individuals were killed directly in road traffic collisions or euthanized later after tracking (kill rate 64%). An age class (adult/juvenile) was determined for 265 animals (65%), and the results indicated that noticeably more adults than juveniles were killed. In relation to wintering subpopulation sizes, there were higher collision and traffic mortality rates in Suomenselkä (3.0% and 2.0% of the winter population, respectively) than in Kainuu (1.8% and 1.3%). WFR-train collisions occurred in both subpopulations. In Suomenselkä, a railway mortality rate of 0.2% was recorded, while in Kainuu it was 0.7%. We found collision and traffic mortality rates that were relatively low and comparable with those of other ungulate species. However, the relatively high proportion of adults observed among road-killed individuals lends support for further studies to develop species-specific mitigation measures for WFR. Keywords: Collision rate, road-kill, traffic mortality rate, ungulate-vehicle collision

Animal–vehicle collisions (AVC) threaten animals as well as human life and property. AVC with ungulates, called ungulate–vehicle collision (UVC), often seriously endangers human safety because of the considerable body size of ungulates. In the Republic of Korea, three ungulate species, Capreolus pygargus, Hydropotes inermis, and Sus scrofa, account for a large proportion of AVC. This study aimed to understand the characteristics of UVC by examining various parameters related to habitat, traffic, and seasonality using MaxEnt. The results showed that the peak UVC seasons coincided with the most active seasonal behaviors of the studied ungulates. For the modeling results, in C. pygargus, habitat variables are most important for models across seasons, and UVC events are most likely to occur in high mountain chains. In H. inermis, habitat and traffic variables are most important for models across seasons. Although the important habitat for the models were different across seasons for S. scrofa, the maximum speed was consistently critical for models across all seasons. Factors critical to UVC in the Republic of Korea were different for the three ungulate species and across seasons, indicating that seasonal behavior should be considered along with landscape and traffic characteristics to mitigate UVC.

Ungulates (mainly Cervidae and wild boar Sus scrofa) are considered among the most problematic wildlife suffering on roads and causing the largest material losses due to high densities of ungulate populations, spatial and temporal movement patterns, and body size of these animals. Roe deer–vehicle collision (RDVC) as the most usual cause of ungulate fatality on roads may be applied as an appropriate model for understanding ungulate-vehicle collision patterns in general. To better understand, manage, and mitigate RDVCs, a detailed knowledge of the temporal behavioral patterns of roe deer is essential. In order to determine the role roe deer behavior plays in RDVCs, we examine time-dependent patterns of RDVCs in Lithuania, a country with a relatively low human population density and less developed transport infrastructure compared with other European countries with relatively high human population density and more intensive road network. Our analysis includes 5556 RDVC records from 2013 to 2016 and examines both short-term and long-term periods to determine the interrelationship between roe deer behavior and vehicle collisions. Our results document the relationship between RDVCs and season of the year with the highest RDVCs peaks occurring in late spring (May, 817, 14.7% of RDVC) and late autumn (November, 626, 11.3%). The daily RDVC frequency is influenced by seasonal changes in sunrise, sunset, and timing of twilight and the impact of these environmental variables on vehicle operator behavior. Our findings are comparable with those reported elsewhere in Europe and suggest that roe deer temporal behavioral patterns influence RDVCs more than transport infrastructure.

Ungulate‐vehicle collisions (UVC) constitute a widespread and increasing problem in large parts of the world. This has generated an intensive search for mitigating measures, but often based on a weak understanding of the underlying spatiotemporal factors. We examined the effects of harvest density (a proxy for moose density), traffic‐related variables and climate on the spatiotemporal variation in number of moose‐vehicle collisions (MVC) in 14 Norwegian counties based on 31 year of data. Moose density was the most important factor explaining the variation in MVC, both within and between counties. In addition, the spatiotemporal variation in MVC was positively related to traffic volume (private car mileage) and snow depth, and negatively related to winter temperature. The relationship between traffic volume and temporal variation in MVC was stronger in counties with general low traffic volume, possibly because high traffic volume can act as a barrier to moose road crossings. Likewise, the temporal effect of snow depth was mainly present in counties with on average deep snow, i.e., where it constitutes a constraint on moose movement and space use during winter. Our study highlights the different importance between areas of the factors underlying the spatiotemporal variation in MVC. A notable exception was the variation in moose density, which follows an isometric scaling to the variation in MVC in all counties. Thus, a given percentage decrease in moose density is likely to return a similar percentage decrease in MVC. A significant population reduction may therefore be an efficient mitigating measure to reduce the number of MVC in Norway. From a harvesting and conservation point of view, other possible preventive measures to reduce MVC should also be considered. However, because of the strong temporal effects of moose density and snow depth, evaluations of other mitigating actions should always seek to control for temporal variation in these variables.