Wildlife Crossing For Animals

Every day we hear about an animal or animals such as black bears, wolves, moose and deer that have been hit and killed by cars and trucks on the highway. In order to reduce these risks some roads have wildlife crossing structures which involve under-passages, over-passages, viaducts, tunnels and green roofs. These Wildlife crossings allow animals to cross roads safely in order to prevent the so called “Road-kill”- (which means the remains of an animal or animals killed on the road by motor vehicles).
After many years of research, biologists reached the conclusion that road-killls can be a considerable threat to small populations. Species that have difficulty in migrating across roads in order to get to resources such as food and shelter will experience reduced reproductive and survival rates, which can compromise the viability of wildlife populations throughout the world. Wildlife vehicle collisions have a significant cost for the human population as well; many passengers have been injured and killed because of collusions. Fortunately, Wildlife crossings appear to be highly effective at reducing both habitat fragmentation and wildlife-vehicle collusions caused by roads. All of these wildlife crossing structures have been designed to provide semi-natural corridors above and below roads so that animals can safely cross without endangering themselves and motorists. The combination of wildlife crossings and roadside fencing has helped reduce the mortality of several keystone species such as the Florida panther.

The first wildlife crossing structures were constructed in France during the 1950's. The most recognizable wildlife crossing structures in the world are found in Banff National Park in Alberta, where vegetated overpasses provide safe passages over the Trans-Canada Highway for bears, moose, deer, wolves and many other species.