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50 Amazing Animal Bridges And Crossings That Save 1000s Of Animals Every Year
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It's hard to say how many animals are killed by vehicles around the world every year, but it's estimated that up to one million are killed every day on the roads of the US alone. As you can see from the list below however, some countries go to great lengths to ensure the safety of their wildlife.
The first animal bridges were built in France in the 1950s, and the longest in the world, called the Natuurbrug Zanderij Crailoo, can be found in the Netherlands and is over half a mile long! Scroll through this list, compiled by Bored Panda, to see some of the best animal crossings on the planet. Don't forget to vote for your favorite!
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Wildlife Crossing In Belgium
Turtle Tunnel In Japan
Blue Penguin Underpass In New Zealand
This should be compulsory everywhere all over the world ! The amount of dead animals I see everyday. It's not just our planet
Ecoduct In Banff National Park, Canada
A Rope Bridge Over The Hume Freeway In Victoria
FYI: This bridge was designed for the endangered Squirel Glider, not cockatoos. Cockatoos can fly - even in Australia!
A Grizzly Bear Emerging From An Underpass After Crossing The Trans-Canada Highway In Banff National Park
Ecoduct In Singapore
This would be good for animals to cross if there where no gate at the bottom.
Elephant Underpass In Kenya
Bridge For The Animals In North Brabant Provice, Netherlands
Animals? From the looks of marks, I think it was made for motorcyclists.
Crab Bridge In Christmas Island, Australia
Ecoduct Duinpoort, About Halfway Between Zandvoort And Haarlem, The Netherlands
Wildife Crossing In New Jersey
I always thought these were overgrown overpasses that were out of use. Weird.
Bridge For Monkeys And Other Animals To Cross Over The Road In Bahia, Brazil
Wildlife Overpass Near Keechelus Lake
Squirrel Bridge In Washington
Ecoduct In Colorado
Ecoduct In Germany
Animal Bridge In Montana
Ecoduct In The Netherlands
This is the same ecoduct as the one below, #25. It's the tunnel at the right of the picture below.
Ecoduct In The Netherlands
Bee Highway In Oslo, Norway
"We are constantly reshaping our environment to meet our needs, forgetting that other species also live in it,” Agnes Lyche Melvaer, head of the Bybi, an environmental group supporting urban bees, which is leading the project." https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/25/oslo-creates-worlds-first-highway-to-protect-endangered-bees
Cattle Underpass In Victoria, Australia
We have the exact same thing in Ghana, sadly it's been taken over by vehicles. :(
Salmon Cannon In Columbia River, Eastern Washington
Animal Passing In Alberta, Canada
Ecoduct In Austria
Bear Overpass In Banff National Park, Canada
Red Crab Tunnel On Australia’s Christmas Island
You can try, but it looks like the ones on the girders want to make their own way!
Ecoduct 'Harm Van De Veen' In The Netherlands
All the Dutch ones look so overgrown - they must have been there for quite a while ...
Ecoduct In Holland
This is the Natuurbrug Zanderij Crailo, the longest ecoduct in the world.
Ecoduct In Belgium
Da's precies voor woestijndieren over te laten, er zijn zoveel mooiere oversteekplaatsen voor dieren in België, waarom deze recente nemen
Animal Underpass Near Catalina, Arizona
Ecoduct In Prague, Czech Republic
The interesting lesson here is that such installations are not only something advocated by ideological environmentalists and animals-lovers. All but the most stupid people will need to see that saving animals, creating living areas that not only work for humans, and fostering biodiversity is in the end in our very own interest. Road crashes kill not only the animals, but eventually also people; a lack of biodiversity causes huge losses in agriculture; and so on and so on. Awareness of this should by spread, and we should raise our voices when we next time hear someone saying something like "Oh, and again for a few dumb animals they put up this bridge/fencing/tunnels/etc. and it costs us XYZ in taxpayer money!"
But...how do you get the animals to use it?
You build a fence (or some sort of barrier) around everywhere else, except for the bridge, that way the bridge is the only place the animals can cross. At least that's what they do in Banff, Canada
I wondered the same thing. How are the animals smart enough to use the bridges?
Place food on the bridge and they'll figure it out from there.
I understand that they build these where the animals' natural crossing are, but I am always amazed at how the animals instinctively use these... Where did they cross while the bridges were being built?
One thing which strikes me is that so many of the bridges are very open and have no cover for the animals while they cross. Many wild animals prefer to keep close to cover, if not actually deep in it, and would be deterred from using a facility if there was no cover.
In general, larger trees can have roots that can and do damage the concrete structure on the wildlife bridge. Agencies limit the vegetation on the bridges to smaller shrubs and grasses so that the roots don't impact the integrity of the structure.
The interesting lesson here is that such installations are not only something advocated by ideological environmentalists and animals-lovers. All but the most stupid people will need to see that saving animals, creating living areas that not only work for humans, and fostering biodiversity is in the end in our very own interest. Road crashes kill not only the animals, but eventually also people; a lack of biodiversity causes huge losses in agriculture; and so on and so on. Awareness of this should by spread, and we should raise our voices when we next time hear someone saying something like "Oh, and again for a few dumb animals they put up this bridge/fencing/tunnels/etc. and it costs us XYZ in taxpayer money!"
But...how do you get the animals to use it?
You build a fence (or some sort of barrier) around everywhere else, except for the bridge, that way the bridge is the only place the animals can cross. At least that's what they do in Banff, Canada
I wondered the same thing. How are the animals smart enough to use the bridges?
Place food on the bridge and they'll figure it out from there.