The Arizona Game and Fish Department recently released their latest monitoring report on the Oracle Road wildlife bridge and underpass. Game and Fish is in the middle of four years of post-construction monitoring of these wildlife crossings. According to the report, as of June 2018, 2,477 animals have used the wildlife bridge and 1,941 animals have used the underpass. The most common animals to use the bridge are mule deer, whereas the underpass sees a lot of javelina and coyote. One interesting finding is that with time, more mule deer are using the underpass as they become acclimated to it. Other notable species seen in smaller numbers include bobcats, white-nosed coati, raccoons, and skunks.
Game and Fish also continues to monitor a large group of desert tortoises on either side of the crossings with radio-telemetry devices attached to the tortoises’ shells. While none of these tortoises have been documented using the crossings yet, we are hopeful that eventually they will.
Check out some new photos taken on the crossings from Game and Fish below. You can also view the full monitoring report here.
