With the beginning of the new year, so come the caribou that move into the area to the south of Glennallen along the Glenn Highway, and as the snow deepens, moose also take to the roadways in the interior.

The past week has seen at least four instances of wildlife incidents on the roadway in the Glennallen area by drivers along the Richardson and Glenn Highways.

It was January 7th that a call went in to the troopers reporting a single vehicle crash at mile 3 of the Tok cut-off. When troopers responded to the scene at 9:52 pm, 42-year-old Joshua Scott reported that he had been eastbound on the highway when he struck a moose with his 1997 Ford F-350. Scott reported no injuries in the incident and the moose was salvaged by people on the road-kill list.

Two days later, on January 9th at 11:59 pm, troopers would respond to another wildlife strike, this time two caribou were hit at mile 174 of the Glenn Highway south of Glennallen. 52-year-old Thomas Morgan of Valdez reported that he struck the caribou with his 2001 Dodge pickup as he was traveling westbound. Morgan also reported no injuries and the caribou were salvaged by persons on the road-kill list.

The very next day, at 6:19 pm, troopers would respond to another accident near Copper Center. 25-year-old James Goudreau of Valdez reproted that he swerved on the road as he was traveling northbound on the Richardson Highway to avoid hitting a moose. When he did so, the 2007 Kia he was driving struck the guardrail on the Klutina River Bridge. His vehicle needed to be towed from the scene. Goudreau reported no injuries.

The same night on January 10, another caribou was hit at mile 178 of the Glenn Highway. 55-year-old Catherine McConkey of Tazlina was eastbound when she struck a caribou as she was eastbound in a 2010 Toyota Tundra. Although damaged, the vehicle was driveable and McConkey reported no injuries.

As the winter continues wildlife will continue to use the roadways. When traveling at night, drivers are advised to slow down and use caution.