Photo: Ross MacDonald | Banff National Park
Swedish authorities recently announced they would build up to a dozen renoducts (reindeer viaducts) to aid reindeer in crossing highways and allow herds to reach grazing more easily. The renoducts are part of a growing number of wildlife bridges and underpasses around the world that aim to connect fractured habitats. On the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico, underpasses have been used to shield jaguars from traffic. Natural canopy bridges in the Peruvian Amazon have helped porcupines, monkeys and kinkajous pass over natural gas pipelines. On Christmas Island, bridges have been built over roads to allow millions of red crabs to pass from the forest to the beaches on their annual migration. The bridges and underpasses have been shown to help animal herds maintain genetic diversity and reduce traffic-related deaths, both of animals and humans.
|
|
More:
