Whilst carrying out courier jobs, drivers are being warned to keep watch for animals that may be using main roads as a crossing point. This often occurs when wild animals need to get to important breeding or feeding grounds on the other side of their natural habitat. Different areas of the UK are home to different protected species so, next time you’re out and about on the A roads, keep your eyes peeled for these endangered critters:

Toads on the Roads

The small town of Forge Dam near Sheffield is an important breeding area for the common garden toad. Whilst carrying out courier jobs in the area, you will see numerous toad crossing signs that dot the Whitely Road, and never is this area more prevalent than from mid-February to March. This is breeding time for these randy reptiles and hundreds of toads cross the road to reach their ancestral breeding ground during this period. The Wildlife Trust has recognised the area as nationally important. Froglife is an organisation that recognises the importance of the area and has placed regular patrols on the Whitely Road. The members all don bright yellow jackets and warn upcoming vehicles to slow down, whilst guiding the toads across the road.

Beware of the Badgers

Those carrying out courier jobs between Inverness and Nairn on the A96 should be prepared to bodge that badger! Badgers account for 25% of all road deaths and this problem seems to be more prominent in certain areas of Scotland. The Scottish Natural Heritage has set up a Think Badger campaign following reports that 24 badgers were killed on a single stretch of road. The majority of these deaths took place in the months of February and August and over half of them took place in the Petty Church area of town. Due to these statistics, drivers are requested to be extra vigilant if travelling this route by night.

Honk for Hedgehogs

Why did the hedgehog cross the road? To see his flat mate! Hedgehogs have long been the butt of jokes concerning road safety, and perhaps it was for this reason that the government choose this cute critter to front its road safety campaign. In many areas, hedgehogs can become an issue on the roads and the British Hedgehog Preservation society has spent many years campaigning for the introduction of hedgehog tunnels and hedgehog bridges. These may have helped reduce the number of hedgehog road deaths in recent years, but areas such as Priors Hardwick in Warwickshire are still campaigning for drivers to reduce their speed the old fashioned way with the introduction of hedgehog crossing signs.

Give Owls at Hoot

Whilst hedgehogs account for 29% of all road deaths, they are closely followed by barn owls at 25%. The Barn Owl Trust is campaigning for 10 foot trees and shrubs to be planted around the side of main roads so that the owls have something to fly over. The number of barn owls has dropped by almost 70% from the same number in the 1930s. Whilst the use of intense farming procedures is partly to blame, over half of all barn owl deaths are thought to be as a consequence of main roads. The problem is so bad that a recent study found that during the nesting period, which runs from March to August, all adult barn owls living within 0.3 kilometres of a main road are certain to be killed. This shocking statistic is a warning for those carrying out courier jobs to be aware of their surroundings and try to avoid using excessive speed in areas where barn owls are present.

Lyall Cresswell is the Managing Director of Courier Exchange, the world’s largest neutral trading hub for the Sameday courier and express freight exchange industry. Over 2,500 transport exchange businesses are networked together through their website, trading courier jobs and capacity in a safe ‘wholesale’ environment.