Not sure what to do with road kill? Call the authorities

Some people can even boast (or complain?) about eating at a “Road Kill Cafe.”

Deer, moose and other large four-legged animals steal the headlines when they lose one-on-one matchups with Hondas, Fords and Chevys — this paper featured an article in Wednesday’s paper about deer-vehicle crashes — but what does a motorist do when a bald eagle meets the Michelin Man or Mr. Goodyear? How about a cougar? A skunk?

A local reporter witnessed Monday what happens when a mature bald eagle comes in contact with a plow truck moving 65 miles per hour. The results were predictable.

The aftermath?

After daydreaming a few minutes about a mounted bald eagle in his living room, the local reporter contacted the Department of Natural Resources to report the high-speed accident. Turns out someone can’t have a deceased bald eagle, whether they witnessed the kill or not. In fact, no public person can have as little as a bald eagle feather without a federal permit. Same goes for all protected migratory birds, according to the DNR.

So does someone have to call authorities when they create or encounter road kill? What if the animal is injured or threatening traffic? Can someone actually keep road kill?

“Contact the appropriate authority and they can do what they can,” said Larry Petersen, International Falls’ assistant wildlife manager.

Common sense also plays an important role. Be extremely careful with injured animals, including everything from a two-pound owl to the more obvious 1,000-pound moose, the DNR says. It’s smart to move road kill out of the way of traffic, or at least contact area law/wildlife enforcement to get it moved.

“Often times people don’t want to mess with anything, so they call the proper authorities,” Petersen said.

A permit is required to keep any road kill, which once again rotates back to contacting the proper authorities.

“You just want to be very careful,” Petersen said. “The best thing is to contact someone.”