Abstract
A five year survey from June 1998 until June 2003 in Yambaru Area, Okinawa, Japan recorded 22 mortalities and one seriously injured body of the Okinawa Rail Gallirallus okinawae. Road-kill was the largest single cause (72.7%: 16 of 22) of the recorded deaths. Analysis of the 17 traffic accident data (16 dead, and one injured body) of Okinawa Rail revealed how those accidents occurred. We found there were two major areas where the traffic accidents frequently happened. In both areas, the road is relatively straight and wide, so that vehicles there drive at high speed. Because of the Okinawa Rail is an almost flightless bird, the high speed driving directly leads to an increase in rail traffic accidents. The majority of the traffic accidents took place in May through June (64.7%: 11 of 17), which overlaps the breeding period of the Okinawa Rail.
