Dharitri Ganguly
Banff Wildlife Overpasses: Alberta, Canada
Banff National Park features one of the most successful wildlife crossing networks in the world. Spanning the Trans-Canada Highway, six massive vegetated overpasses, along with dozens of underpasses, are covered with native soil, trees, and shrubs to mimic the natural forest floor. Since monitoring began, animal-vehicle collisions in the area have dropped by over 80%.
Primary Users: Bears, elk, wolves, cougars, and deer.
Christmas Island Red Crab Bridge: Australia
Every year, millions of red crabs migrate from the forest canopy down to the ocean shore on Christmas Island to breed. To prevent millions of crustacean casualties from road traffic, local authorities constructed a 5-meter-high specialised bridge over a main road, complete with plastic funnels and walls that guide the migrating crabs safely up and over the asphalt.
Primary Users: As the name suggests, Christmas Island red crabs (Gecarcoidea natalis).
Nutty Narrows Bridge: Longview, Washington, USA
Built in 1963 by local resident Amos Peters, the Nutty Narrows Bridge is a 60-foot miniature suspension bridge strung between two large oak trees high above a busy avenue. Designed to help squirrels cross safely without dodging traffic to reach a nearby park filled with nuts, it has become an iconic piece of local architecture and inspired similar canopy bridges worldwide.
Primary Users: Squirrels.
Natuurbrug Zanderij Crailo: The Netherlands
Natuurbrug Zanderij Crailo is one of the longest wildlife overpasses in the world, stretching over 800 meters (0.5 miles). It doesn't just cross a highway, it spans a dual-carriageway road, a rail line, a sports complex, and a local park to reconnect two major protected nature reserves in the Veluwe region.
Primary Users: European badgers, roe deer, wild boars, reptiles, and amphibians.