Top 10 Most Interesting Wildlife Crossings
1. Crab Bridge
Hundreds of thousands of red crabs travel across Christmas Island, situated in the South Pacific. Though they live in woodlands located on the island, they need to go to the sea in order to breed. To assist them in crossing the road safely, the residents of the island take a number of precautions. Sometimes, they close the roads, and, during present years, they have even constructed bridges and underpasses to provide the crabs with safe passage.
There are over 20km of plastic barriers have been placed to keep the crabs away from the main roads of island and direct them into its thirty-one underpasses and on a 5m-high bridge. These trails have also become a popular tourist attraction making it easier for people to see the crabs doing what they do best.
2. Turtle Tunnels
These are the photos which went viral when Japan Railways mounted turtle tunnels to make sure the safety of animals in the construction of the country’s railway network. This turtle-saving solution was introduced by West Japan Railway Company in Kobe, in association with Suma Aqualife Park. Before the installation of these safety tunnels, a large number of fatalities were caused because the turtles used to get trapped in the train tracks.
3. Elephant Underpass
This tunnel connects two wild areas in Kenya. It recently became operational for the 1st time people have spotted elephants using it. The tunnel cost $250,000 and is indicated as advancement in animal-human relations. It was constructed with donor aids with the purpose of uniting two separate elephant inhabitants detached by a road for years. The tunnel lies in the undulating hills underneath Mount Kenya, near meadows of cheerful yellow canola stalks and young green wheat. It was creased with grass and elephant fertilizer to lure the animals through. The animals successfully traversed a main road absent putting themselves or vehicles in danger, and absent injuring crops or frightening residents in a neighboring village.
4. Bear Overpass
The busy Trans-Canada Highway cuts the Banff National Park. That lessens deadly danger for the moose, elk, bears and many other mammals around. Amid 1996 and 2013, administrators constructed 38 wildlife underpasses and 6 overpasses, which have sustained over 140,000 documented wildlife passages.
5. Bee Highway
From balconies and rooftop gardens to flower-emblazoned mausoleums, Oslo has formed a “bee highway” to shelter the rare pollinators essential to production of food. It purposes to provide the insects a harmless passageway through the city and is creased with spreads providing shelter and food. According to the organizers, it is the world’s 1st ever such system. The bulk destruction of bee populaces across the world has already influenced Chinese farmers in Sichuan province to pollinate vegetation by hand. In America, no choice is left with the farmers except renting hives conveyed cross-country by means of truck in order to cross-fertilize their harvests.
6. Longest Overpass in the World
It was Netherlands who became the world’s 1st country to organize a system of wildlife passages throughout the landscape. Over 600 have been constructed in this country, which includes Natuurbrug Zanderij Crailoo, the longest wildlife overpass in the world, which is 50m wide and more than 800m long. It covers a sports complex, a railway line, a roadway, a river and a business park.
7. Salamander Tunnels
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There is a 2-lane road in North Amherst, which appears as any other street in city, but it is actually not. It is known as Henry Street. In rainy night every spring, as soon as the sundown temperature increases above 40 degrees and the snow start to melt, hundreds of dotted salamanders arise from their subversive forest holes on streets’ east side in order to cross the road. The yellow-spotted dark gray amphibians require reaching vernal pools located on road’s west side in order to mate, but their yearly journey was generally made deceitful by cars that would unintentionally crush a few of the beings every spring.
In early 1980s, residents of Amherst were so worried about the amphibians that they created a “bucket brigade.” In March and April, they stood beside Henry Street to grasp roaming salamanders and escort them safe and sound to their mating ponds. In 1987, Germany’s drainage company came to know regarding the salamanders’ difficulty and delivered funds for a trial project of a tunnel along the street. The tunnel system lets the dotted salamanders, along with other amphibians and wood frogs, to move back and forth safely.
These passage constructions are tiny — around 6” wide and 10” high. Every tunnel possesses a lowered top to give enough of the humidity salamanders require to be safe from drying out.
8. Ecoduct De Woeste Hoeve
Ecoduct De Woeste Hoeve goes over the A50 freeway located in the Netherlands. The country possesses an inspiring 600 wildlife passages (including ecoducts and underpasses) that have been utilized to guard populations of deer, wild boar, and endangered European badger.
Till the recordkeeping of 2012, the Veluwe —1000sq km of drifting sands, heath and woods— is the biggest low-lying nature area located in North Western Europe. It encompasses 9 ecoducts, on average 50m wide, which are utilized to transport wildlife through highways that bisect it. Its 1st 2 ecoducts were constructed nearby 1985 through the A50 when the road was built. There were 5 other ecoducts were constructed on the Veluwe through existing main roads — 1 was even constructed through a 2-lane regional road. The 2 ecoducts through the A50 were utilized by almost 5,000 deer and wild boar in a 1-year time.
9. Squirrel Bridge
Above shown picture shows Nutty Narrows Bridge, which is basically a squirrel bridge located in Longview, Washington. It is world’s narrowest bridge ever. Before construction of bridge, squirrels needed to evade hurtling traffic by running through the street and back again to reach a park encompassing large trees.
On 19th March, 1963, after watching a large number of squirrels being crushed, resident Amos Peters planned to safeguard squirrels and provide them a passage to cross an eventful road absent getting slayed by coming cars. The genuine sky-bridge was constructed over Olympia Way n in downtown Longview. Intended to appear like a mini-suspension bridge, the sixty-feet-long bridge was constructed from aluminum piping sheltered by using an old fire tube to form the roadway. The total expense incurred on the bridge was $1000.
10. Davi’s Toad Tunnel
This $14,000 wildlife passage was built in 1995 as a 6’’ tunnel to permit frogs to avoid the newly constructed Pole Line Road flyover. The postmaster ornamented the entry to the tunnel nearby the Post Office to look like a city named Toad Hollow — ample with a hotel, outhouse and a bar.
There are rumors that frogs rejected to utilize the tunnel at first, so they were encouraged by doing some light installations. The frogs then started to die due to the lamps’ heat inside the tunnel. Moreover, in order to get through successfully, they also needed to fight with birds that swiftly got the knowledge of frog-producing pit in the ground. The plan got national consideration, accompanied by a feature in 1998 on The Daily Show. In 2000 January, The Toads of Davis, a children’s book, illustrated and written by Ted Puntillo, Sr., was issues to express the tale of the Davis Toad Tunnel from the eyes of the frogs.