Here at the Scottish Wildlife Trust we strive to protect and encourage wildlife of all sorts, from the large and glamorous species such as Ospreys and Pine Marten, to the wee cuddly things like Red Squirrels,  beautiful things like butterflies and dragonflies, right down to the less glamorous but equally important invertebrates, amphibians and underwater life. We do so much work protecting , surveying and  improving habitats for wildlife, it breaks our hearts when there are unnecessary losses from preventable causes- the worst being road casualties.

Unless you’ve been lucky enough to visit the Loch of the Lowes reserve, you may not realise that our beautiful loch has a small rural road running along one side. This one lane road has the  reserves lochside woods one one side and our neighbours arable fields along the other so wildlife are often attracted across it.

The sad fact is that this road has seen a high number of casualties every year, and this year has been especially bad. Since January this year we have lost:

1 Fallow Deer

4 Hedgehogs

2 Red Squirrels

3 Brown Hares

1 Tawny Owl

1 Oystercatcher

1 Mallard Duck

5 Pheasants

Dozens of toads, frogs and mice.

Please take care this summer for wildlife on the road- this time of year there are lots of young animals out and about who have very little experience and can be especially vulnerable. Dawn and Dusk are the worst times for wildlife on the road so PLEASE SLOW DOWN especially near woodland areas, and near ponds, lochs or rivers. thank you!

Ranger Emma