Wild animals and vehicles – analysis of development of a conflict: case of sverdlovsk region

Abstract–The dynamics of the number of road accidents with wild animals in the Sverdlovsk region for the period from 2012 to 2022 was analyzed. The species composition of the animals is sharply shifted towards pair-horned ungulates. The increase in the number of collisions with roe deer and moose is faster than the increase in the number of species by an average of 3.1 times. The seasonal peak of incidents occurs in May-July for moose and Siberian roe deer and in October for wild boar. A strong correlation was found between the number of road incidents, roe deer and moose numbers and vehicle density on roads. The rate of increase in animal populations is 31 and 33% (for roe deer and moose, respectively) of the rate of increase in the number of accidents, while the rate of increase in vehicle density on roads is 7.5–9.9%. It is suggested that the impact of animal population growth on the change in the number of accidents is higher than the impact of the change in traffic intensity.