扎克舒夫附近的野生动物通道，波兰 Aerial view of a wildlife crossing near Zakrzów, Poland (© bbsferrari/Getty Images)

扎克舒夫附近的野生动物通道，波兰 Aerial view of a wildlife crossing near Zakrzów, Poland (© bbsferrari/Getty Images)

为动物脚掌而建，而非行人 Built for paws, not people

波兰扎克舒夫附近的野生动物通道

道路解决了一个问题，却悄然制造了另一个问题。人类出行速度前所未有地提高，野生动物世代沿用的迁徙路线却被公路切断，导致碰撞事故增加、栖息地破碎化，野生动物种群彼此隔绝。为应对这一挑战，人们建造了称为生态桥的野生动物通道：这些桥梁或隧道旨在重新连接栖息地，让动物安全穿越繁忙道路。最早的一些现代案例于20世纪50年代出现在法国，这一理念很快传遍欧洲。荷兰等国通过建造覆盖土壤及草本、灌木和乔木等本土植被的宽阔绿色桥梁，推动了生态桥设计的完善。

如今，世界各国都在使用这类通道。在美国，跨线桥和地下通道帮助加拿大马鹿、叉角羚、黑熊和佛罗里达美洲狮等物种安全穿过繁忙公路。有时，最聪明的桥就是那座你几乎注意不到的桥——因为野生动物把它视为森林的一部分，而非公路。

Wildlife crossing near Zakrzów, Poland

Roads solved one problem but quietly created another. People could travel faster than ever, while wildlife now faced highways cutting across routes they had followed for generations. The result was more collisions, fragmented habitats, and isolated wildlife populations. That challenge led to building wildlife crossings called ecoducts: bridges or tunnels designed to reconnect habitats and give animals a safe way across busy roads. Some of the earliest modern examples appeared in France during the 1950s, and the idea soon spread across Europe. Countries such as the Netherlands helped refine ecoduct design by building wide green bridges covered in soil and native vegetation, from grasses and shrubs to trees.

Today, countries around the world use these crossings. In the United States, overpasses and underpasses help species such as elk, pronghorn, black bears, and Florida panthers cross busy highways safely. Sometimes the smartest bridge is the one you barely notice—because wildlife sees it as part of the forest, not the highway.