A look at New Brunswick's gruesome boneyards
Thousands of carcasses collected over several decades sent to two dozen boneyards
Normally, the crunch under your feet during an autumnal walk in the woods comes from sticks and twigs.
But in some outlying places, those crunches come from skulls and spines and rib cages. Thousands of them, all nestled underfoot.
They're known as boneyards, and they're the final resting place for roadkill.
"Annually in New Brunswick, approximately 2,000 deer, 400 moose and 100 bears are killed in collisions with motor vehicles," said Kelly Cormier, a spokesperson for the Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development.
According to the department, there are about two dozen boneyards scattered across New Brunswick. Some have been used for decades, filled with bleached bones piled in all directions.
The chillier weather does help to throttle the stench and limit the flies. Still, be thankful you can't smell the photos.
Despite being one of the more gruesome sights in the province, the boneyards serve an important purpose.
"The Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development retrieves the carcasses of these big-game animals from along the roadways and collects some biological information from the carcasses for management purposes," said Cormier.
That information includes measurements and identification that can determine age and sex of animals. That provides biologists with insight into a species' population and overall health.
Carcasses don't last long in the boneyards before they're picked clean by scavengers, including eagles, turkey vultures, and a variety of other birds and mammals.
Despite being around for decades these rotting roadkill buffets are out of the way, hard to find and "discreet," according to the province. They're often located far from residential areas — for obvious reasons.
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