A squirrel bridge is a construction (similar to a

wildlife crossing Wildlife crossings are structures that allow animals to cross human-made barriers safely. Wildlife crossings may include underpass tunnels or wildlife tunnels, viaducts, and overpasses or green bridges (mainly for large or herd-type animals); ...

) which enables small animals, especially squirrels and

marten A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on ...

s, to safely cross busy roadways. The bridges are a measure for

wildlife management Wildlife management is the management process influencing interactions among and between wildlife, its habitats and people to achieve predefined impacts. It attempts to balance the needs of wildlife with the needs of people using the best availab ...

and natural habitat preservation, and serve the functions of both

animal welfare Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevit ...

and accident prevention. The Nutty Narrows Bridge in

Longview, Washington Longview is a city in Cowlitz County, Washington, United States. It is the principal city of the Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Cowlitz County. Longview's population was 37,818 at the time of the 2 ...

, built in 1963, is regarded as the first of its kind. The city has since built eight other bridges for squirrels. Costs to construct squirrel bridges vary significantly, depending on construction. Simple

rope bridge A simple suspension bridge (also rope bridge, swing bridge (in New Zealand), suspended bridge, hanging bridge and catenary bridge) is a primitive type of bridge in which the deck of the bridge lies on two parallel load-bearing cables that ar ...

constructions, such as those in

Brecht, Belgium Brecht () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Brecht proper, Sint-Job-in-'t-Goor and . In 2021, Brecht had a total population of 29,809. The total area is 90.84 km². Brecht ...

, have cost only about 250

euro The euro (symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

s, while the bridge built in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a list of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's ad ...

in 2013 took half a year to construct and cost 150,000–200,000 euros.

List of squirrel bridges

The following bridges protect the

red squirrel The red squirrel (''Sciurus vulgaris'') is a species of tree squirrel in the genus '' Sciurus'' common throughout Europe and Asia. The red squirrel is an arboreal, primarily herbivorous rodent. In Great Britain, Ireland, and in Italy numbers ...

, common in Europe, or the North American

gray squirrel Gray squirrel or grey squirrel may refer to several species of squirrel indigenous to North America: *The eastern gray squirrel (''Sciurus carolinensis''), from the eastern United States and southeastern Canada; introduced into the United Kingdom, ...

(either of which may be hunted as an

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species adv ...

depending on the continent).

Similar concepts for other species

References

{{Reflist, 30em

List of squirrel bridges

Similar concepts for other species

See also

References

Further reading