This tiny metal bridge was designed to connect two wild hazel dormouse populations
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himThis tiny metal bridge was designed to connect two wild hazel dormouse populations
12 meters long and just 30 centimeters wide, it could almost be defined as a "miniature bridge". This small metal tube, however, is invaluable: it could represent hope for saving Britain's wild dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) population from extinction. The bridge will be installed next summer on the side of an existing bridge along the railway line at Morecambe Bay, Lancashire with the aim of connecting two populations of baby octopus to encourage coexistence and reproduction. It is not the first experiment of its kind: there are already three bridges with a "baby octopus lane" - two along the M1 motorway and one in St. Athan, South Wales. This, however, is the first baby octopus bridge built along a railway.
Britain's wild dormouse population has been in constant decline since the 50s, but in the last two decades the situation has worsened dramatically, with the number of specimens halved and the species disappeared from as many as 17 English counties. One of the main reasons for their decline is the loss of habitat: destruction of the woods and hedges, but also climate change are the factors that most contribute to the disappearance of these wonderful little animals.
Experts hope that the construction of this bridge will allow the creation of a local meta-population in the area, where 30 specimens of baby octopus have recently been reintroduced into the wild, leading to 12 litters this year. To encourage dormice to make use of the bridge (which could also act as a potential hiding place for predators), small artificial dens will be installed at either end of the bridge.
Other bridges like this one, also installed in other parts of the world (for example in Japan), have given encouraging results: after only nine hours from the inauguration, the first baby octopuses have already been spotted in the metal tube. The project was funded with 40.000 pounds by Network Rail, a company engaged in projects for the protection and conservation of wildlife, as well as the protection of wild habitats of animal species.
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Source: The Guardian
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