I read “Wildlife Crossings” by Lisa Idzikowski with my son before. Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected my country — the hyper-urbanized city — to have a similar structure for wild animals.
During the talk by National Parks Board that I undertook, I was surprised to hear of the existence of Eco-Link@BKE. Apparently, it has been operating since 2012, which goes to show how ignorant I am as a Singaporean. Aimed to connect the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve with the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, it enables wild animals such as pangolins and common palm civets to cross safely from one end to the other.
I was so mesmerized by this feature that I went to watch a YouTube video on it with the son after my work.
On some days, I feel patriotic about being Singaporean.
I always wondered about how these things work. In the US there are signs posted on the side of the road reading deer crossing, bear crossing, turtle crossing, etc, but no way I can see to protect the animals besides the sign! People joke about wondering how to teach the animals to read. I have never seen one like depicted above. That would be effective.
I think in the case of Singapore, these wild animals already intuitively know that there is food on the other side of the expressway. Which is why they risked their lives and made the pilgrimage before the wildlife crossing was built. Maybe the chemical pheromones they release or something?
I know that at these wolf crossings, they sometimes leave food there to teach them or show them the way.
There are some wolf crossings in northern Portugal.
Thanks! I showed my son this!