Critter Crossings

Critter Crossings. Written by Karen Mokler.

《小动物通道》，作者：凯伦·莫克勒。

Introduction. Imagine you are a turtle stuck on one side of a six -lane freeway. On the other side is food, room to roam, and maybe even a mate. Huge metal monsters race past you. They move much faster than you ever can. How can you hope to safely cross without being flattened?

引言。 想象一下，你是一只被困在六车道高速公路一侧的小乌龟。 路的另一边有食物、可以闲逛的空间，说不定还有伴侣呢。 巨大的铁皮怪兽从你身边呼啸而过。 它们的速度比你能跑的最快速度快多啦。 你要怎么才能安全过马路，不被压扁呀？

Many animals, not just turtles, face the dangers of crossing roads every day. Some make it across, while others don't. Humans can help these animals safely move to the other side by building critter crossings or eco -passages. They come in many different types, but they all help animals, including humans, stay alive.

不只是乌龟，每天都有好多动物要面对横穿马路的危险。 有些成功过去了，有些却没能做到。 人类可以修建小动物通道或者生态廊道，帮这些动物安全走到马路对面。 这些通道有很多不同的种类，都能帮包括人类在内的所有生物保住性命哦。

Banff is the best. Banff National Park in Canada has some of the most beautiful mountains in North America. It also has the Trans -Canada Highway running through it. During the busy summer, the highway may carry more than 25 ,000 vehicles each day. It used to be the site of hundreds of collisions between animals and vehicles each year.

班夫的通道最棒啦。 加拿大的班夫国家公园有着北美地区最秀美的几座山脉。 加拿大横贯公路正好从公园中间穿过。 在热闹的夏天，这条公路每天的车流量可能超过25000辆。 以前这里每年都会发生数百起动物和车辆相撞的事故。

Then Parks Canada built over 30 animal underpasses and overpasses with more planned for the future. The crossings cost millions of dollars and raised an important question. What if the animals didn't use them?

后来加拿大公园管理局修建了30多座动物地下通道和天桥，未来还计划修更多。 这些通道耗资数百万美元，也引出了一个重要的问题。 要是动物们不肯用这些通道怎么办？

That first year, only one black bear and one mountain lion used the Banff crossings one time each. Today, however, all sorts of animals move above and below the highway. As of 2011, animals have used the passes to cross more than 220 ,000 times.

开通第一年，只有一头黑熊和一头美洲狮各用过一次班夫的通道。 不过现在，各种各样的动物都在公路上方和下方穿行啦。 截至2011年，动物们使用这些通道过马路的次数已经超过22万次了。