Animal species that are at home in the high mountains are finding their habitats reduced and fragmented by roads.
Animal species that are at home in the high mountains are finding their habitats reduced and fragmented by roads. In addition, they face competition from scavengers from lower boreal areas that find their way to the mountains.
“More cabins, more tourism and increased car traffic means more litter and more roadkill. For the red fox, the crow and other scavengers, it means more tempting food,” says Lars Rød-Eriksen, who is employed as a researcher in terrestrial ecology at NINA, the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research.
In his doctoral work at NTNU, Rød-Eriksen surveyed road segments at Dovre, Saltfjellet and Hardangervidda to learn how wildlife is affected by the highways.
Roads = food
"We found that the red fox uses the road both to find food and to move from place to place. Especially in the winter, using the roadways is easier than travelling across the snowy terrain," he says.
Read more at Norwegian University Of Science And Technology
Photo: The density of red foxes is increasing in Norway’s mountainous areas. The more trash and food waste red foxes have access to, the greater their numbers. This photo was taken with a game camera and shows a red fox that has found food. CREDIT: NINA, game camera
