Berlin has
plenty of green space, so it's not uncommon for wildlife and urbanites to cross
paths. Now an animal rights group has made sure that very intersection remains
safe for the city's squirrels.
You don't
have to go too far to encounter nature in Berlin. And I don't mean simply
riding the S-Bahn to one of the city's numerous lakes in summer, or putzing
around its vast parks after work. I'm talking about those special moments when
you stumble out of a bar at 3:00 a.m. and spot a sleek fox scurry across a
puddle of soft light falling from a streetlamp before it dives into the closest
shrub.
Or perhaps
you've been lucky enough to cross paths with a wild boar in a nearby forest -
or unlucky enough if you happen to clash in a residential neighborhood. These
tusked creatures roam the city by the thousands and have given Berlin its title
as the "wild boar capital" of Germany.
Berlin's
unique political situation is partly responsible for the continued proximity of
its wildlife. Due to its division there has always been plenty of abandoned
buildings, and not only for homo sapien squatters - these spaces make perfect
dwellings for animals.
A city of
bridges
In the
former East, Berliners have the iconic Oberbaumbrücke with its twin gothic
towers, and to the West, Wannsee's Glienicke Brücke, famously used for the
exchange of spies during the Cold War.
Recently,
Berlin erected another practical overpass - this one for squirrels.
Similar to
a wildlife crossing, a squirrel bridge is a construction that allows small
animals, especially squirrels and martens, to safely transverse busy roadways.
Before last March, the idea would have met with twisted-up faces, perhaps even
giggles.
The idea
may still be giggle-worthy, but it's been set to the test. This winter, animal
rights organization Aktion Tier installed the capital's first squirrel bridge
in the district of Treptow-Köpenick, on the traffic-stricken Müggelseedamm, a
tree-lined road that borders the Müggelsee lake in the southeast Berlin.
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| Organizers first found the perfect location - then visualized the bridge |
The second
squirrel bridge in Germany - the first can be found in the central town of
Vlotho - is actually a thick length of plastic rope. It starts nine meters up
and extends 21 meters between two trees on either side of Müggelseedamm. The
branches of the adjacent trees do not touch, so squirrels are forced to use the
road - hence the need for the squirrel bridge.
"We
have more wild animals in the city than in nature," said Ursula Bauer of
Aktion Tier. "They are living together with us and we have to deal with
it. The traffic is very dangerous for them - for the hedgehogs, for the birds,
and of course for the squirrels."
But as
Bauer explained, such a simple idea is never that easy to implement in Germany,
where every branch (excuse the pun) of production is regulated.
According
to Bauer, they first had to find the owner of the strip of land where the trees
are rooted. Then it took months to find a certified tree climber to install the
squirrel bridge, and more time to find the proper insurance to cover every
possibility.
And there's
one more delightful feature: Wooden boxes filled with nuts are fastened at each
end of the rope to lure the squirrels.
"Animals
are very particular. They might not use a rope that is not exactly in the
direction that they want to cross," said Bauer. "You have to observe
the area and build the rope where they want to cross the street."
Which
squirrel wouldn't be motivated by a mound of nuts?
The world's
narrowest bridge
Bauer was
initially approached by Henrik Zwadlo from the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater
Ecology and Inland Fisheries, which is located directly at the site of the
squirrel bridge.
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Ursula Bauer (left) and Henrik Zwadlo
hope to see fewer squirrel deaths |
"He
saw so many squirrels being killed in the street," said Bauer.
"Nearly every month he saw one die."
After
witnessing one squirrel death too many, Zwaldo set out to make a change - and
found the inspiration he needed from similar initiatives. The first squirrel
bridge was documented in 1963 in Longview, Washington; it was officially called
The Nutty Narrows Bridge. More complex than a rope, the mini suspension bridge
- dubbed the "World's Narrowest Bridge" - spans 18 meters and is made
of aluminum piping covered with a retired firehose. The total cost for the
bridge was $1,000 (720 euros).
Others have
followed. ABC news reported in 2010 that the state of Arizona was intent on
spending $1.25 million to build bridges for endangered squirrels over a
mountain road to prevent more roadkill. Squirrel bridges can also be found in
the UK, Belgium, France and the Netherlands.
One green
spot to the next
"The
difference between other cities and Berlin is that elsewhere animals usually
stay in the periphery, while in Berlin they can be observed in the city center
as well," explained Susanna Hertrich, a Berlin-based visual artist. Her
recent installation, "Berlin Wild Life," explores cross-species
cohabitation between humans and wild animals.
Hertrich
says animals can move relatively undisturbed because of Berlin's many parks
that allow them to jump from one green spot to the next. "Due to its
history, Berlin offers fallow lands and abandoned spaces in its center, where
other cities tend to be fully developed," she said. "These places of
course make perfect settlements for animals, like foxes or raccoons.”
Or even
rabbits. The so-called death zone, the no man's land along the Berlin Wall,
experienced a drastic influx of wild rabbits breeding and living in bunny
utopia. The German-Polish documentary, "Rabbit a la Berlin" (2009),
tells this unique part of Berlin history as an allegorical study of a
totalitarian system.
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Hertich's "Berlin Wild Life" project focuses on the interactions
between humans and animals |
According
to Hertrich, the best time for animals in Berlin was in the early 1990s after
the Wall was destroyed and largely removed. "Urban development in East
Berlin had not yet fully begun, and walls, wires or hidden land mines no longer
interrupted animal migration from one part to the other part of the city,"
she explained. "The animals were able to find a large number of unused
plots, derelict buildings and abandoned spaces. Such places can of course still
be found, but increasingly less so.!
New
animal-human architecture
Since the
squirrel bridge was erected, Ursula Bauer says she hasn't actually spotted any
squirrels using it yet. But that doesn't mean they're not - there haven't been
any more reports of dead squirrels on Müggelseedamm. Aktion Tier is considering
installing a small camera to see if their efforts have paid off.
So far,
there's been no opposition to the squirrel bridge on Müggelseedamm. In fact,
it's even sparked peculiar excitement. Bauer recalls little known politicians
coming out of the woodwork at its grand opening to have their photos taken with
the mighty rope.
There is
also talk of installing more squirrel bridges in Berlin, perhaps on
Heerstrasse. But Bauer is wary - she has first-hand experience with Germany's
red tape. "It's a big street, and the insurance might not cover such a
long rope."
As Berlin
continues to grow, Susanna Hertich sees a possibility for animals to be
actively incorporated into urban planning.
"[If]
new building plans took the animals' needs into consideration, then
gentrification would not necessarily be an interruption," she said.
"In fact, this could be a very interesting starting point for new forms of
animal-human architecture."
