Minnesota Man Hits Huge Timber Wolf on His Way Home From Work, Sister Shares Pic Online

Animal-vehicle collisions cost $8.4 Billion in damages every year

A Minnesota man hit a huge Timberwolf on his way back to home from work on March 3, 2019. About 200 people died in United States from animal-vehicle collision. (Stock image/Pixabay)

A Minnesota man hit a huge timber wolf on March 3 on his way from home to work. The animal died while the man escaped unhurt.

The Sunday afternoon drive turned out to be eventful for Amanda Metteer’s brother. She posted a photo of the incident on Facebook: “Little Brother hit a Timberwolf on his way home from work on his “almost” birthday (leap year baby). DNR and police told him to get a picture with it!! What a crazy life!!”

The accident likely happened between Menahga and Detroit Lakes, according to Valley News Live.

Metteer’s post instantly led to a discussion online. Many people appreciated the beauty of the animal.

“Beautiful! His time must be over but my goodness he must have lived a good life to get that big! Glad everyone is safe,” said Stephanie Hovius.

There were also concerns raised about wolfs attacking livestock and pets.

“That is a good size dog holy crap, yeah and they wander why we get mad when they release these damn things that kill our livestock and threaten our horses,” said Christopher Barrows.

Beth Stoven Werneke said the photo reminded her of some other pictures she had seen a while back, and she shared a couple of them in the comment section.

Others recognized wolves to be an endangered animal and said they should be protected. “Important part of nature! Save the wolves,” said Jennifer Teige.

“I don’t think this is a PRIDE in hitting a wolf picture. Accidents happen. No one wants to damage a vehicle or hurt someone/something else. The fact that this wolf is so HUGE was more than likely the reason for the picture. It is larger than any wolf I have seen! Holy moly!” said Kjell Eken.

Wildlife Vehicle Collisions in the United States

Animal-related road accidents costs the United States $8.4 Billion in damages every year, according to a report on Wildlife-Vehicle Collision (WVC) by the Federal Highway Administration. Between 1 million to 2 million large animals are hit annually on country roads, causing 200 deaths and leading to 26,000 injuries.

“Almost all animal-vehicle collisions (AVCs) resulted in no human injury (95.4 percent). Collisions with moose and other large animals can have a higher likelihood of resulting in harm to the vehicle occupant,” the report said.

The report said such collisions mostly happen during the spring and fall when animals migrate, and that traffic poses a conservation threat to wildlife.

“This study identified 21 federally listed threatened or endangered animal species in the United States for which road mortality is among the major threats to the survival of the species,” it said.

Modifying Driver’s Behavior

The Federal Highway Administration report mentions that drivers can avoid such collisions by “choosing when or where to drive, remaining alert, or lowering vehicle speed.”

Animal detection systems can also be used to detect animals on roads. “Once a large animal is detected, warning signals are activated to inform drivers that a large animal may be on or near the road at that time. Such systems have been installed at over 30 locations in North America and Europe,” the report said.

The report also talks about the importance of motorists being aware of the impacts, causes, and high-risk locations of WVCs.