Splat!

Science World, Sept 1, 2008 by Cody Crane

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Roads can be a deathtrap for animals trying to hop, fly, or crawl across the blacktop. To find out just how dangerous roadways are for wildlife, scientists from Purdue University in Indiana took on a gross job. For 17 months, they counted roadkill, tallying up thousands of animals from 60 different species. By far the biggest victims of motorists were frogs and other amphibians. These cold-blooded, moist-skinned vertebrates (animals with backbones) accounted for 94 percent of the total roadkill. The researchers suspect that hazardous highways may even be contributing to the worldwide decline of amphibians.

ROADKILL ON INDIANA HIGHWAYS

Scientists from Indiana's Purdue University counted more than 10,500 dead animals while conducting a 17-month survey of roadkill. Added together, what percent of roadkill did reptiles, birds, and mammals make up?

Birds         2%
Reptiles      1%
Mammals       3%
Amphibians   94%

Note: Table made from pie chart.

SOURCE: DAVID GLISTA, TRAVIS DEVAULT, AND ANDREW DEWOODY