Vehicle crashes with kangaroos have increased over the past two years as low rainfall forces the marsupials to seek food outside their usual habitats, SA motoring club RAA says.

The club’s RAA Insurance arm has received more than 2000 claims for kangaroo-related collisions in the past year, up 44% on two years ago.

“There is a clear trend that kangaroo collisions are increasing across the state as more animals come towards busy roads in search of food,” RAA senior manager of safety and infrastructure Charles Mountain said. “Typically, we see the most crashes occurring in autumn and spring, but with the lack of rainfall in recent months, the numbers for other months have increased as well.”

Mount Gambier in the state’s southeast has recorded 64 kangaroo collision claims to RAA in the past three years, followed by Whyalla (57), Port Augusta (53) and Mount Compass (47).

While 77% of kangaroo crashes occur in regional areas, a significant number are recorded in outer-metropolitan areas, according to the RAA data.