Wildlife Tunnel

Wildlife Video: First Bear Sighted at Park’s Crossing Tunnel

Roads and fences can be dangerous for wildlife, accounting for a large number of deaths every year across North America. Conservationists have also long pointed to habitat fragmentation as a significant threat faced by wildlife as roads, fences, and other elements of human development can limit their movement. One of the solutions has been to connect wild areas by creating tunnels or overpasses covered in vegetation where animals can safely cross roads or fences. The first video, posted by Parks Canada, shows the first bear sighted crossing through a new tunnel built in Kootenay National Park, British Columbia during the structure’s first spring.

The sighting is significant because it sometimes takes years for animals to adapt to using these structures in their travels.

The second video — also posted by Parks Canada — shows a montage of five years of remote images of wildlife taken on the Redearth Wildlife Overpass in Banff National Park, Alberta.

Header Image: Image Credit: B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, Flickr