A trail camera caught 1,000 mule deer using the Idaho 21 overpass near Boise in the two-minute video below, helping to prevent deer-car collisions. The video is a sped-up compilation of deer crossing the overpass from Oct. 17 to Dec. 18, 2024. Mule deer populations have been in decline due to habitat loss from highways and more, as well as weather, predation and other factors.
The overpass was completed in fall 2023 with the help of the Idaho Transportation Department, Idaho Fish and Game, Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation and many other partners. According to Idaho Fish and Game, “The overpass protects motorists and thousands of deer and elk that cross the highway each year as they migrate from the mountains down to the Boise foothills during fall and return in spring and go as far as the Sawtooth Mountains.”
The overpass is located just a few miles from a wildlife underpass that has been used for years as a safe passage for the animals there.
Read more:
