Before they were roadkill, they were creatures

The Cedar Rapids Gazette recently published an article “Who picks up roadkill?” The “Curious Iowa” segment answered in fulfilling the question. A short revelation (96 pages) written by Roger M Knutson, a long-standing biology professor at Luther College in Decorah entitled, “Flattened Fauna, Revised: A field Guide to Common Animals of Roads, Streets, and Highways” came to mind.

And he asks the question, “Are you among the millions of people whose only opportunity to observe wildlife comes after it has been run over and pressed into a patty by big rigs, then desiccated by the elements until even flies don't recognize it? This is the field guide for you! ”Flattened Fauna” fills an important gap in our natural history knowledge and fosters a heightened respect for the ecology of the paved environment.”

Knutson’s elegy reminds us these animals may not be all that different from us. Everyday lives in which the creatures encounter survival, eating, reproducing, and their own way of thinking. Their demise ends on the highway as a result of our treachery. Come to think of it, we all live together on this planet and when someone goes missing it hurts.

John Carver

Decorah