Road ecology blog: Dead male black bear (Ursus americanus) and four white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) at composting facility for roadkilled animals. This blackbear and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) will be mixed with wood chips and regularly sprinkled with water. The soft tissues quickly decompose into "compost" with minimal odors.

In the past animal carcasses were just thrown to the side of the road; out of sight, out of mind. That is not allowed anymore for various reasons. The alternative was to bring the carcasses to a garbage dump, but the fees are quite high and considered unaffordable. Therefore many road management agencies started to compost the carcasses of roadkilled animals. It is relatively inexpensive and the compost can sometimes be used for projects where topsoil is needed. However, there are some agencies that opt to incinerate roadkilled animals, especially if there are concerns about chronic wasting disease.

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Dead male black bear (Ursus americanus) and 4 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) at composting facility for roadkilled animalsDead male black bear (Ursus americanus) and 4 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) at composting facility for roadkilled animals. This blackbear and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) will be mixed with wood chips and regularly sprinkled with water. The soft tissues decompose quickly into "compost". Dead male black bear (Ursus americanus) at composting facility for roadkilled animals, Montana, USADead male black bear (Ursus americanus) at composting facility for roadkilled animals, Montana, USA. This blackbear and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) will be mixed with wood chips and regularly sprinkled with water. The soft tissues decompose quickly into "compost".