Collisions involving wildlife is expected to rise with the emergence of the fall season, which has prompted police to re-issue warnings to motorists to watch out.
Bears are looking to fatten up for the winter while deer and moose are rutting with the change of the season. That has the Thunder Bay Police Service expecting up to 10 collisions a week between drivers and animals on semi-rural and rural roads.
"They can really damage your car or worse," traffic Const. John Whitehurst said.
Police have already responded to several collisions involving moose and bears.
Dusk can be especially dangerous. Whitehurst is asking that drivers scan the tree line to watch for any movement.
"So you can see that animal at its earliest movement and get on the brakes right away," he said.
If a driver does hit an animal, Whitehurst is reminding people that any damage over $1,000 must be reported to police. If the animal is in distress or dead police also need to be notified so that it can be removed.
Whitehurst is hoping that police see a reduction in the number of collisions this year.
