Wildlife crossings are overpasses and underpasses that have emerged as essential infrastructure for conserving biodiversity and ensuring road safety.
These structures help animals navigate busy roadways safely, reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions while preserving ecological connectivity where an animal will need access to resources on both sides of a roadway.
The Effectiveness of Wildlife Crossings
A prominent success story comes from Banff National Park in Canada, where the implementation of animal overpasses and underpasses has led to an 80% reduction in wildlife-vehicle collisions.
Such crossings, accompanied by fencing to guide animals to traverse highways safely. By mitigating these collisions, wildlife crossings not only protect animal populations but also improve human safety due to minimizing collision injuries and vehicle damage.
How Animals Learn to Use Crossings
Animals utilize wildlife crossings through natural exploration and by following established trails. These crossings are often strategically placed along existing wildlife corridors, where animals are already accustomed to traveling.
However, there is a learning curve where it may take up to five years before an animal feels comfortable utilizing the crossing, and the size and type of crossing preferred by the animals is different for various species.
The good news is that some species instinctively follow trails left by others leading to these crossings being a part of their natural migratory or foraging routes.
Beyond Safety: Ecological Benefits
Wildlife crossings contribute to genetic diversity by connecting isolated populations. They also allow animals to adapt to environmental changes, such as finding new habitats or responding to food shortages as urbanization continues to fragment ecosystems.
Success stories have been seen not only with Banff National Park but with Ramnagar-Kotdwar Highway in Uttarakhand and the Kanha-Pench corridor in India.
These structures are critical for balancing infrastructure development with environmental stewardship ensuring a healthy future for both animals and humans.
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