Story and Photos by Joseph Zahnle

When my wife Barbara and I lived in Orofino, from 2010 to 2015, we frequently saw animals dead on the road. It seemed whitetail deer, raccoons, and squirrels were always getting struck by cars as they crossed Highway 12 to drink at the Clearwater River and then return to the woods. Sometimes when animals got hit, they made it back to the forest but then would die.  Turkey vultures gathering around these carcasses was a common sight.