The city of Łódź has opened what is believed to be Poland’s first bridge for squirrels. Officials hope that it will protect the animals from cars and help educate drivers, and say that more bridges will be opened if it is a success.
“Squirrels live practically everywhere among us, in parks, greens, all kinds of wooded areas,” said Małgorzata Kryzińska, the head of Łódź’s municipal greenspace authority. “They move around to look for food, shelter and a partner. Unfortunately, they often die under the wheels of a car.”
“We decided to try to do something about that and to look for a safe solution for crossing streets,” Kryzińska explained. “The bridge is suspended quite high so that the squirrels are as far away from cars as possible.”
To są prawdopodobnie pierwsze w Polsce mosty wiszące dla wiewiórek. Teraz będą mogły pokonać ulicę w lesie Łagiewnickim bezpiecznie nad autami. #Łódź #Lodz pic.twitter.com/GLWyVg2Eba
— Łódź (@Miasto_Lodz) April 26, 2021
The bridge, suspended between two trees on either side of a road in the city’s Łagiewniki Forest, is made out of mesh rolled up to form a transparent tunnel. The material, produced in Italy, is highly resistant to temperature extremes and contains a UV stabiliser to prevent it from deteriorating.
To encourage squirrels to try out the new bridge, a “nut-o-mat” has been hung next to it, containing 1.5 kilograms of feed.
“Squirrels like walnuts and hazelnuts most,” said Kamil Polański of the city’s wild animal rehabilitation centre. “We are hoping that, lured by the food, they’ll decide to use the bridge.”
Polański said that several young squirrel orphans are currently housed in the centre, adding that every year they are having to look after more animals affected by road accidents before returning them to the wild.
“Bridges, apart from a practical dimension, also have educational value,” he said. “We want drivers when they see them to take their foot off the gas, observe what is happening in the forest they’re driving through. Animals are at home here, and it’s normal for them to appear on the road.”
The world’s first squirrel bridge, Nutty Narrows Bridge, was built in 1963 in Washington state, USA. While many such crossings are relatively simple constructions, one opened in The Hague in 2012 reportedly cost more than €150,000 to build but was only used by a handful of squirrels.
Main image credit: Urząd Miasta Łodzi
Ben Koschalka is a translator and senior editor at Notes from Poland. Originally from Britain, he has lived in Kraków since 2005.
