With landscaped vegetation, ponds and a width of 25 metres, France’s new eco-bridges for wildlife are luxurious
Save time by listening to our audio articles as you multitaskDesigned to reduce roadkill and help animals roam more freely, wildlife bridges have become popular from Canada to Australia. In France they have a long history.built its first, near Fontainebleau, in 1960. Early versions were rudimentary.
Every year an estimated 29m mammals are killed on roads in Europe. It is hard to say how many are saved by. A study for Vinci, another French motorway operator, found that between 2011 and 2015 each of its green bridges was used each year on average by 1,086 red deer, 150 wild boar, 104 roe deer, 48 foxes, eight badgers, four weasels, one hedgehog and one wolf. Smaller mammals and reptiles preferred underpasses: on average 189 badgers crossed via each of its motorway tunnels.
Private motorway operators are making these hefty investments in order to green their reputations and keep their state-awarded operating concessions. Governments too have been building eco-bridges. Sweden is putting up “renoducts” to help migrating reindeer. Germany has built more than 80 wildlife crossings, which have helped to protect the grey wolf. Green campaigners approve, but add that fewer cars on the roads would be better still.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline"For hedgehogs, not road hogs"
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