By Mark Kinver Environment reporter, BBC News
6 July 2019
More than 900 badgers have been reported as roadkill so far this year.
Almost twice as many of the nocturnal animals have been counted compared with foxes and hedgehogs, which are next on the 2019 mammal roadkill list.
Pheasants top the list of bird fatalities to date, followed by woodpigeons and blackbirds.
Project Splatter, which compiles the data, has received more than 5,500 reports from the public in the six months to June.
Top three mammals (this year so far):
Badger 905
Fox 475
Hedgehog 453
Top three birds (this year so far):
Pheasant 1,347
Woodpigeon 156
Blackbird 93
Among some of the more unusual sightings this year are reports of a beaver found on the A9 in Scotland, and a wallaby near Oxford.
The number of badgers and foxes being recorded as roadkill is generally in proportion with the animals' wider populations. There are an estimated 485,000 badgers in England and Wales, while there are an estimated 250,000 foxes throughout the UK.
Continued
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