As we wrap up this Costa Rican adventure, we return to Jack Ewing. Although the wildlife underpass tunnels and overpass bridges at Hacienda Baru were among the first wildlife crossings built in Costa Rica, many other wildlife crossings are being built or planned for the highways of Costa Rica. There is now an organization (Comisión de Vías y Vida Silvestre or the “Roads & Wildlife Commission”) devoted to the promotion of “caminos amigables” (roads that are friendly to wildlife), complete with a Facebook page○, TV and radio spots, and a guide on how to design effective wildlife crossings○. An entire “road ecology” mindset has taken over throughout the country, with young people and women taking the lead in road ecology activism. But it is still difficult to obtain the funding to build crossings unless major funding has been earmarked for road expansion. So, in addition to wildlife crossings, low-cost community education and signage are being used to good effect.
For example, along a high-elevation section of the Pan American highway where many Baird’s tapir (Tapirus bairdii) have been hit and killed by vehicles in recent years, new signage has been erected by national parks staff and community activists working to conserve tapirs. Baird’s tapir often cross the highway along a 20–km section that cuts between the Quetzales National Park and Tapanti National Park, both containing populations of Baird’s tapir. The tapirs are nocturnal and often cross the highway at night when truck drivers frequently drive at high speed. With the new signs warning drivers to watch out for tapirs on the road, there has already been a noticeable drop in roadkills.
Jack Ewing is now retired but lives near Hacienda Baru and still gives talks about his 40 years of conservation work to students and visitors. Meanwhile, the work of the Hacienda Baru National Wildlife Refuge carries on, and the wildlife are doing great. Someday, jaguar and tapir may once again roam the forests of Hacienda Baru when the Path of the Tapir Biological Corridor has fulfilled its goal of reconnecting the movement of wildlife from the Talamanca mountains to the Osa Pennisula along the Pacific coast. Fortunately, National Route 34 no longer poses such a grave threat to wildlife at Hacienda Baru, and most of the animals have learned to use the wildlife crossings to go under or over the highway. Jack is pleased that he was able to do what he could for the wildlife at Hacienda Baru — now the torch is being passed on to younger conservation activists and scientists. Will you join them?
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT…
- What can you do to promote wildlife-friendly roads where you live? Jack Ewing was just an ordinary guy but look what he was able to accomplish!
- What is the name of a local group near you that is advocating for the construction of wildlife crossings?
- How can you spread the good news that ordinary people are not powerless to make the world a better place for wildlife?
- Why might it be important to have community involvement in a wildlife crossing project?
Photo credit:
Roads & Wildlife Commission
Photo credit:
Nai Conservation
Photo credit:
Nai Conservation
Photo credit:
Mike Mooring
Photo credit:
Jack Ewing