Canberra's winter brings with it frosty mornings, biting winds and an increase in kangaroos hit by cars and dying on our roads.
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Kangaroo car strikes are the single biggest cause of car accidents and panel beating in the ACT, Australian National University College of Science Honorary Professor George Wilson said.
As grass becomes sparser in winter, kangaroos were more likely to cross roads in search of food, he said.
"They come down off Red Hill to find grass on ovals," Dr Wilson said.
Car strikes involving kangaroos were increasing because their populations were also increasing due to development increasing pastoral land, he said.
"More collisions are a function of more kangaroos," he said.
However, WildCare Queanbeyan macropod coordinator Natalie Patrick emphatically disagreed.
She said kangaroo populations were becoming denser as their natural habitat was developed and destroyed, and the rise in car strikes was due to daylight savings.
"It's the same each winter, we see spikes in joeys coming in because people are on the road going to and from work at those peak times when kangaroos are active. People go to work at 6.30 in the morning, it's still dark," she said.
"This winter seems to be even worse than previously ... there are many areas within our area of operation [where] there has been increased human development."
ACT rangers attended about 4000 call outs involving injured or dead kangaroos last year.
WildCare Queanbeyan has rescued more than 70 joeys since May this year, found in the pouches of mothers killed on the road.
They stressed the importance of knowing what wildlife organisations operated in your area and pointed towards the Wildlife Rescue App.
The app uses location data to indicate which service to call for where you are in New South Wales or the ACT, their number, and what animals they handle.
Calling the wrong organisation could result in delays of up to two days, WildCare president Brian Tait said.
WildCare currently has around 70 active volunteers who are running their 24/7 phone line, attending rescues and caring for animals while they recover.
They are calling for new volunteers to help with the influx of orphaned joeys, and have training sessions to equip people with the necessary skills.
Mr Tait encouraged people who couldn't care for an animal, but still cared about native wildlife, to get involved.
"[A] common misconception is it's all about just the raising or the rescuing," he said.
They provide fabrics and patterns and materials for joey pouches and possum boxes.
He said people willing to help transport animals could be of huge assistance. Animals move between carers, to re-release enclosures to "wild up" or to their designated release zones.
Dr Wilson has hand-reared joeys himself previously. But he stressed the importance of a holistic, strategic approach to kangaroo populations.
"I love kangaroos but we have to think about population issues," Dr Wilson said.
Culling, fencing and contraceptive vaccines are being used by the ACT government to try to keep the local kangaroo population under control.
