Yellowstone National Park is on everyone’s camping bucket list and is arguably the most famous patch of wilderness in the U.S., and for good reason. This stunningly beautiful, 2,221,766-acre reserve was not only the first national park in the country, but also the world. It features thousands of square miles of lakes, canyons, pristine rivers, grasslands, forests, as well as the iconic geysers that help make it such a unique piece of real estate.
With around 4.5 million visitors each year, Yellowstone is also one of the most popular parks in America. And with that many humans come problems. While this often means crowds, noise, and littering — not to mention other upsetting tourist mistakes such as getting too close to the wildlife — it’s the visitors’ vehicles that actually do the most harm. Driving in or around the park is actually the most dangerous activity in Yellowstone you can partake in.
This is especially true on Highway 89, part of which runs between Livingston and Gardiner, the town that sits at Yellowstone’s North Gate. While veering off the road or having an accident with another car is always a danger, it’s the area’s abundant wildlife that poses the biggest risk. The highway is the site of a sickening number of vehicle-animal collisions, which not only poses a danger to drivers, but tragically impacts the wildlife as well.
Death By The Side Of The Road On Highway 89
Situated between two mountain ranges and following the flow of the Yellowstone River, the valley Highway 89 runs through is a magnet for wildlife that can’t resist the grass and alfalfa available on much of the area’s farmland. The region is home to deer, elk, bison, moose, bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope — as well as plenty of smaller critters, birds of prey, and big predators such as cougars and grizzly bears…