With Longer Nights, Time To Be Extra Careful When Driving Through National Parks

Published Date

November 19, 2014

Drivers need to be extra cautious during the winter driving through Wind Cave National Park due to wildlife on the roads./NPS

They're big, hard to see until the last minute, can do substantial damage to your vehicle, and likely will wind up dead if you run into them. With longer nights having arrived across the National Park System, it's time to drive a little more carefully and slowly so you don't run into wildlife.

At Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota, officials say recent snowfalls have led the park's bison to roam on or near the roadways, especially Highway 385 at the park's south entrance. Three bison were injured in vehicle crashes in the park earlier this month.

'We seem to have the most problems early in the winter. The bison gather in the driving lanes next to the cattle guards and at night are very difficult to see,' said park Superintendent Vidal DÃ¡vila. 'One of our rangers spent over an hour recently using cracker shells and other noise devices to drive them off, but that was only a temporary solution.'

Bison and other large animals such as elk are drawn to the roads by salt used to melt snow and ice during winter storms. The park doesn't salt their roads, but salt is carried into the park by vehicles from outside the park. Clumps of snow and ice, containing salt, are frequently shaken loose while vehicles travel through the park or when vehicles rattle across cattle guards at park boundaries. The animals recently hit were near the park's southern entrance.

The park, which is home to about 400 bison, will seek restitution for each animal killed if the driver is found to be negligent due to factors such as speed or driving under the influence. Since South Dakota regulations do not allow the park to donate road-killed bison to food banks, the bison carcasses instead provide food for other park wildlife.

Of course, Wind Cave isn't the only national park where you should be extra careful during the winter months. Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Shenandoah, and Great Smoky Mountains national parks are just some of the other parks with wildlife you might encounter on roads at night.

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