"On any given evening or early morning, we might have 75 to a 100 elk feeding along the highway just between Heber and Show Low. Hitting a 400- to 600-pound elk at highway speeds will demolish your vehicle. People need to slow down when on back-country roads," said Bruce Sitko, Pinetop regional information and education program manager for Game and Fish.

Game and Fish officials stressed that the problem is not limited to elk in the high country. "So far this year, we have had 39 antelope and 20 deer killed on the roadways in the Prescott and Prescott Valley areas since mid-March," advised Dave Boyd, Kingman regional information and education program manager.

Game and Fish officials recommend not driving at night along back-country roads unless you have to. "If you must drive at night in the backcountry, slow down and don't overdrive your headlights. Having an elk coming through your windshield can be a deadly encounter — and not just for the elk," Sitko said.

Boyd added that the problem doesn't just exist at night. "In our area, people are hitting antelope and deer during daylight hours. People need to look out for wildlife in the backcountry during all times of day."

Another factor in the drought equation is that wildlife are also having to go farther and farther afield to find food in all types of habitat from the deserts to the mountaintops.