Humans are ever-expanding their cities, towns and homes. As we do so, we encroach on the homes of the wildlife around us. It is important that we set aside protected areas for their use; however, that is often not enough. There are so many species that require a range far wider than what we have set aside for them. What, then, happens to those animals? Where do they go when they need to leave their protected habitats?
Wildlife corridors connect natural habitats, allowing the safe travel from area of land to another. The need for this connection between habitats increases as more and more habitat becomes fragmented.
What Is a Wildlife Corridor?
A wildlife corridor is an area of land that animals use to move between habitats. There are natural corridors as well as humanmade ones, and the protection of these corridors is vital. As humans fragment habitats, they put natural corridors at risk. This fragmentation is one of the greatest threats to wildlife populations because it leads to a greater risk of inbreeding, starvation, disease and vulnerability to natural disasters. In order to reduce these risks, we must protect the corridors that already exist and create our own if need be.
Wildlife corridors range in size depending on need. Large migration paths used by a wide variety of different species require a much larger area than a corridor connecting two small forests. Whether pre-existing or humanmade, they help balance human needs with those of wildlife.
Figure 1. A wildlife corridor in New South Wales, Australia. Photograph courtesy of Steven Nowakowski.
What Are They Used For?
Animals naturally move between places for a number of different reasons. It is vital that as we expand our own habitats, we give wildlife space to continue moving freely. They must be able to search for food and water in case of drought or food shortage, especially with the progression of global warming. Animals also need to find mates to maintain genetic diversity. Corridors also give wildlife a way to avoid humans, which leads to a decrease in conflict and risk of retaliation. Wildlife crossings in particular give animals a way to cross roads and highways without the risk of being hit and killed.
Figure 2. A wildlife crossing gives animals safe passage over a highway.
Corridors vs. Crossings
Wildlife corridors and crossings both connect larger habitats. Corridors are routes that animals already use. Instead of creating new routes, they preserve pre-existing ones. This use is often due to learned behavior or seasonal influence.
Crossings, on the other hand, are humanmade. They often take the form of tunnels or bridges over roads, and connect already-fragmented habitats. Crossings create a safe passage wildlife can use to cross roads and highways, helping to prevent collisions, injuries and even deaths.
Figure 3. Wildlife corridors vs. crossings. Image by Rachel Caldwell, Center for Large Landscape Conservation.
Wildlife corridors are vital to conservation. Animals’ survival depends heavily on their ability to move from place to place, and with our cities and roads, we are causing more and more fragmentation to their habitats. It is therefore our responsibility to provide them with the areas they need to survive in an ever-shrinking wild.
Sources
Header: https://thinklandscape.globallandscapesforum.org/58418/fieldwork-diary-western-wildlife-corridor-northern-ghana/
Figure 1: https://www.rainforestrangers.org/what-are-wildlife-corridors-an-introduction-to-the-wildlife-corridor-project
Figure 2: https://largelandscapes.org/news/invest-act/
Figure 3: https://largelandscapes.org/news/wildlife-corridors-economics/
https://www.nwf.org/Our-Work/Habitats/Wildlife-Corridors
https://www.in.gov/dnr/fish-and-wildlife/files/HMFSCorridors.pdf
https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/biodiversity/conservation/wildlife-corridors
https://largelandscapes.org/news/5-ways-corridors-help-wildlife/
https://largelandscapes.org/news/corridorvscrossing/