This story was identified byPatricia Zurita, CEO of BirdLife International, guest editor of Call to Earth's "Nature's Highways" theme. I did. ..
(CNN)How did the Grizzly Bear cross the road? Hard way. Lingenpolter, a young male grizzly bear, has made 46 attempts to safely cross Montana's Interstate Highway 90.
Wearing a GPS tracker worn by researchers, the bear was found to be approaching the highway many times from the fall of 2020 to the spring of 2021. I'm always turning back. In the end, he was fortunate enough to cross the road under the bridge north of the town of Drammond.
The story of Ringenporter is not uncommon. Busy highways are a dangerous obstacle for animals that need space to roam. If they cross, they are at risk of hitting the vehicle, but if they do not cross, the range of animals is limited and the population can be fragmented and reduced.
To prevent such bears from crossing the highway, Canadian park authorities have built underpasses and elevateds that provide safe passages. Credits: CNN
"(Highways) are a real barrier to all kinds of wildlife," said Y2Y President and Chief Scientist. Jody Hilty says. An initiative aimed at preserving the best habitats on 2,000 miles of land between Yellowstone National Park in the United States and Yukon in northwestern Canada. Connectivity is essential for species survival. “It helps maintain genetics, find the resources we need, and maintain a healthy population,” she adds.
One of the simplest and most effective ways to overcome these barriers is at the crossroads of wildlife. A bridge or underpass that provides a safe passage for animals across the highway. Y2Y helped pioneer this approach throughout its scope.
"When Y2Y started in 1993, there were no wildlife cross structures. Today there are 117," Hilty told CNN.
On April 118, the ground was destroyed on the Bow Valley elevated crossing the Trans Canada Highway in Alberta.
Pressure Point
Nearly 5,000 miles of this highway is one of the most beautiful landscapes in the country, including the majestic Canadian Rocky and the breathtaking Banfu National Park. I'm going through some of them. -A habitat for grizzly bears, wolves, elks, deer and other wildlife. According to
Y2Y, 22,000 cars use the road every day, and in the summer when tourists visit to witness the natural beauty of the area, it swells to more than 30,000. go up. However, the invasion of traffic into this wilderness caused numerous wildlife and vehicle collisions.
On a 25-mile highway with no fencing or wildlife crossings, Y2Y records about 70 road kills annually. The actual number can be much higher due to the frequent movement of injured animals. Hilty says he will go down the road and die later.
In addition to helping animals, crossroads "improve people's safety," says Jessie Whitington, a wildlife ecologist at Parks Canada, who manages Banf National Park.
Whittington has been studying the effects of intersections in and around the park for years. Camera traps capture which animals are using them, and radio collars attached to Grizzly and Wolves show how intersections can help enable long-distance movements.
Animals don't know where the intersection is right away, but highway fencing (the foundation is built 2 meters underground to prevent animals from digging underneath) Helps to focus them towards the intersection. Over time, Grizzly and the wolf learn how to use the intersection and pass on this knowledge to their descendants.
According to Whitington, Parks Canada has recorded 187,000 elevated and underpass animals since 1996.
Banfu National Park and the Y2Y project set an example for others to follow, says Hilty.
"I really hope that our model will continue to be featured, because we can work together to ensure that both humans and nature can prosper. "She says.
Highways can be a dangerous place for bears. Credit: CNN
Hilty hopes that the use of wildlife crossings will become a standard global practice. “When the roads are crowded, we need to reach a point where creating safe passages for wildlife becomes part of normal social practices,” she says.
